Allama Iqbal Open University is a public university in Islamabad, Pakistan.
It is named after Allama Iqbal.
The university is the world's second largest institution of higher learning, with an annual enrollment of 1,121,038 students (), the majority are women and course enrollment of 3,305,948 (2011). Students can gain admission in Matriculation, Intermediate, Bachelor, Master, MPhil and Ph.D. programmes at the university.
The university has 44 regional campuses and centers throughout Pakistan including in Faisalabad Millat Road, Multan, Dera Ghazi Khan, Dera Ismail Khan, Bahawalpur and Rahim Yar Khan.
Objectives and mission
Established in 1974, it is Asia's first open university with a strong emphasis on providing distance education in
philosophy
Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some ...
,
natural science
Natural science is one of the branches of science concerned with the description, understanding and prediction of natural phenomena, based on empirical evidence from observation and experimentation. Mechanisms such as peer review and repeatab ...
and social sciences. It has the most applicants per year of any university in Pakistan.
AIOU offers extensive undergraduate and post-graduate programs in academic disciplines. After witnessing the success of the Open University in the United Kingdom, AIOU was established as a public university in 1974.
AIOU is noted for its cost-effective policy to provide higher and lifelong education to people learning from their homes and places of work at a minimum cost through a specialized fund managed by the government.
AIOU is open to everyone and provides education to all without any discrimination.
Administration and governance
* Chancellor (
President of Pakistan
The president of Pakistan ( ur, , translit=s̤adr-i Pākiṣṭān), officially the President of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is the ceremonial head of state of Pakistan and the commander-in-chief of the Pakistan Armed Forces.Arabic Language and Literature
* Hadith and
Seerah
Al-Sīra al-Nabawiyya (), commonly shortened to Sīrah and translated as prophetic biography, are the traditional Muslim biographies of Muhammad from which, in addition to the Quran and Hadiths, most historical information about his life and ...
* Islamic Law (Fiqh)
* Islamic philosophy, Islamic Thought, Islamic history, History and Islamic culture, Culture
* Qur'an and Tafsir, Tafseer
The Faculty of Arabic and Islamic Studies also operates an Indexing and Abstracting Agency "Islamic Research Index". The Islamic Research Index is the first and largest repository of Arabic and Islamic Studies Research Journals.
Faculty of Education
Established in 1984, the Faculty of Education's origin predates the university. A National Institute of Education was established in 1973 as a part of the Federal Ministry of Education, to improve education at school levels through in-service training of Master Trainers. This institute became a part of the university in June 1975.
The Faculty of Education has the following departments:
* Adult and Continuing Education
* Distance and Non-Formal Education
* Educational Planning and Management
* Science Education
* Special Education
* Teacher Education (Secondary)
* Teacher Education (Elementary)
Faculty of Sciences
Renamed as Faculty of Sciences, the Faculty of Basic and Applied Sciences was established in 1982. It comprises the following nine departments:
* Agricultural Sciences
* Biology
* Botany
* Chemistry
* Information Technology
* Computer Science
* Engineering and Technology
* Environmental Sciences
* Home and Health Sciences
* Mathematics and Statistics
* Physics
* Telecommunications
Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities
The Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities was established in 1982. The 16 departments of the faculty are:
* Business Administration
* Management Sciences
* Commerce
* Economics
* English major, English Language and Applied Linguistics
* History
* Muhammad Iqbal, Iqbal Studies
* Library and information sciences
* Mass Communication
* Pakistan Studies
* Pakistani languages
* Sociology, Social Work and Population Studies
* Gender and Women's Studies
Future goals of AIOU
* BS (4-Years) Specialization in Distance
* Non-Formal and Continuing Education
* Postgraduate Diploma in Educational Technology
* Postgraduate Diplomas in Distance Education
* Postgraduate Diplomas in Non-Formal Education
Commemorative postage stamp
On the university's 25th anniversary, Pakistan Post issued a commemorative postage stamp for it on 20 November 1999.
References
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External links
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AIOU Result
{{DEFAULTSORT:Allama Iqbal Open University
1974 establishments in Pakistan
Distance education institutions based in Pakistan
Allama Iqbal Open University
Educational institutions established in 1974
Islamabad Capital Territory
Memorials to Muhammad Iqbal