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 th ...
Islamic Thought
Islamic philosophy is philosophy that emerges from the Islamic tradition. Two terms traditionally used in the Islamic world are sometimes translated as philosophy—falsafa (literally: "philosophy"), which refers to philosophy as well as logic, ...
Tafseer
Tafsir ( ar, تفسير, tafsīr ) refers to exegesis, usually of the Quran. An author of a ''tafsir'' is a ' ( ar, مُفسّر; plural: ar, مفسّرون, mufassirūn). A Quranic ''tafsir'' attempts to provide elucidation, explanation, in ...
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
The National Institute of Education (NIE) is an autonomous institute of Nanyang Technological University (NTU) in Singapore. Ranked 12th in the world and 2nd in Asia by the QS World University Rankings in the subject of Education in 2015, the ...
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
Continuing education (similar to further education in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland, Ireland) is an all-encompassing term within a broad list of post-secondary learning activities and programs. The term is used mainly in the United ...
* 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
Agricultural science (or agriscience for short) is a broad multidisciplinary field of biology that encompasses the parts of exact, natural, economic and social sciences that are used in the practice and understanding of agriculture. Profession ...
Chemistry
Chemistry is the science, scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a natural science that covers the Chemical element, elements that make up matter to the chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules and ions ...
Mathematics
Mathematics is an area of knowledge that includes the topics of numbers, formulas and related structures, shapes and the spaces in which they are contained, and quantities and their changes. These topics are represented in modern mathematics ...
and
Statistics
Statistics (from German language, German: ''wikt:Statistik#German, Statistik'', "description of a State (polity), state, a country") is the discipline that concerns the collection, organization, analysis, interpretation, and presentation of ...
The Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities was established in 1982. The 16 departments of the faculty are:
*
Business Administration
Business administration, also known as business management, is the administration of a commercial enterprise. It includes all aspects of overseeing and supervising the business operations of an organization. From the point of view of management ...
*
Management Sciences
Management science (or managerial science) is a wide and interdisciplinary study of solving complex problems and making strategic decisions as it pertains to institutions, corporations, governments and other types of organizational entities. It is ...
Mass Communication
Mass communication is the process of imparting and exchanging information through mass media to large segments of the population. It is usually understood for relating to various forms of media, as its technologies are used for the dissemination o ...
*
Pakistan Studies
Pakistan studies curriculum (Urdu: ') is the name of a curriculum of academic research and study that encompasses the culture, demographics, geography, history, International Relations and politics of Pakistan. The subject is widely research ...
Social Work
Social work is an academic discipline and practice-based profession concerned with meeting the basic needs of individuals, families, groups, communities, and society as a whole to enhance their individual and collective well-being. Social work ...
* 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
Pakistan Post ( ur, ) is a state enterprise which functions as Pakistan's primary and largest postal operator. 49,502 employees through a vehicle fleet of 5,000 operate traditional "to the door" service from more than 13,419 post offices acro ...
issued a commemorative postage stamp for it on 20 November 1999.