Government Gordon College, Rawalpindi
is a government
college
A college (Latin: ''collegium'') is an educational institution or a constituent part of one. A college may be a degree-awarding tertiary educational institution, a part of a collegiate or federal university, an institution offering ...
in
Rawalpindi
Rawalpindi ( or ; Urdu, ) is a city in the Punjab province of Pakistan. It is the fourth largest city in Pakistan after Karachi, Lahore and Faisalabad, and third largest in Punjab after Lahore and Faisalabad. Rawalpindi is next to Pakistan's ...
,
Pakistan
Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...
that was established as a church school in 1893.
The college is named after Andrew Gordon.
[(Muhammad Asif]
Gordon College Rawalpindi: A victim of flawed policies
Pakistan Observer (newspaper), Published 8 June 2022, Retrieved 21 November 2022
The college year is made up of an annual system: examination are held once every year. Enrollment at Gordon College is in thousands of students, with around hundreds living on campus. The campus has many buildings, which include a large stadium (used for hockey, football and cricket), basketball court, tennis courts, and badminton court. The college has a large and historic auditorium. The college includes a great library with thousands of new and old books, which also includes a shelf where all books are gifted from the American Embassy, besides this, it also has an old museum prototype. Now with new reforms, this college developed its BS education level and made it co-education which can serve for both males and females.
History
The history of Gordon College can be traced to 1856 when Christian Grammar High School was established in Raja Bazar near the present campus. The college chapter of the school was opened in 1893 with 14 students as class I.[ There were six subjects offered at intermediate college: History, Philosophy, Mathematics, English, Persian, and Sanskrit.
In 1893, it was converted into a college and was named after the ]American Presbyterian Mission
Presbyterian Mission Agency is the ministry and mission agency of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). Founded as the Western Foreign Missionary Society by the Presbyterian Church in the United States of America in 1837, it was involved in sending w ...
head, Andrew Gordon. Initially, it was affiliated with the Calcutta University
The University of Calcutta (informally known as Calcutta University; CU) is a public collegiate state university in India, located in Kolkata, West Bengal, India. Considered one of best state research university all over India every year, C ...
in British India
The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...
.
After the partition of India
The Partition of British India in 1947 was the Partition (politics), change of political borders and the division of other assets that accompanied the dissolution of the British Raj in South Asia and the creation of two independent dominions: ...
in 1947, it was outside the city area; with increasing population, the college is now surrounded by commercial and official buildings. It is a mix of old and new style buildings and has lost some of its academic claims in the years since it became a state institution. Originally, it was founded as a private, Christian
Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...
-affiliated institution and was the only college functioning in the city of Rawalpindi
Rawalpindi ( or ; Urdu, ) is a city in the Punjab province of Pakistan. It is the fourth largest city in Pakistan after Karachi, Lahore and Faisalabad, and third largest in Punjab after Lahore and Faisalabad. Rawalpindi is next to Pakistan's ...
.[
It has a long history and one professor and principal who best represents that history: Ralph Randles Stewart joined the Gordon College, Rawalpindi in 1911 to teach elementary ]Botany
Botany, also called , plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist, plant scientist or phytologist is a scientist who specialises in this field. The term "botany" comes from the Ancient Greek w ...
and Zoology
Zoology ()The pronunciation of zoology as is usually regarded as nonstandard, though it is not uncommon. is the branch of biology that studies the Animal, animal kingdom, including the anatomy, structure, embryology, evolution, Biological clas ...
to pre-medical students. He served as a professor in Botany (1917 – 1960) and as principal of the college from 1934 to 1954.[
In 1972, the college was nationalized by the government and administration was taken from the church and subsequently was converted into a government college.][
]
Courses
Gordon College is one of the oldest academic institutions in Pakistan.[ It offers education services starting from initial college level studies (11th grade in Pakistan) to the master's degree level.
Degrees are offered in the Sciences and Humanities. Three level of degrees are offered:
* Intermediate (11th and 12th grades, leading to F.Sc, F.A, ICS and also offers other courses with different combinations)
* Bachelor (Gordon College has the honor that it is the only public sector or government college in the upper Punjab Potohar region to offer a four-year BS program. The college offers BS in Botany, Mathematics, Information Technology, Economics, Physics, Chemistry, Political Science, Psychology, Statistics and English.)
* Master's (Currently, Masters in English, Psychology and Political Science is offered.)
Computer Science Education and diploma courses are also offered.
]
Notable alumni
* Arshad Sharif
Arshad Sharif ( ur, ; 22 February 1973 – 23 October 2022) was a Pakistani journalist, writer, and television news anchor. He specialised in investigative journalism and covered many political events in the country for national and internati ...
, Pakistani Jounalist
* Azra Quraishi
Azra Quraishi (22 September 1945 – 22 November 2002) was a leading botanist from Pakistan. She worked on the improvement of potato production in Pakistan and became known for her work on tissue culture. She was given the Borlaug Award in 1 ...
, notable Pakistani botanist and educator
* Jagan Nath Azad
Jagan Nath Azad (5 December 1918 – 24 July 2004), List.No.380 was an Indian Urdu poet, writer and academician. He wrote over 70 books, including poetry collections, poems, biographies, and travelogues.
He was an authority on the life, ...
* Shaukat Aziz
Shaukat Aziz ( ur, ; born 6 March 1949) is a Pakistani former banker and financier who served as 17th prime minister of Pakistan from 28 August 2004 to 15 November 2007, as well as the finance minister of Pakistan from 6 November 1999 to 15 ...
, former prime minister of Pakistan[
* ]Malik Shakeel Awan
Malik Shakeel Awan ( ur, ملک شکیل اعوان; born 25 January 1966) is a Pakistani politician and businessman who served as a member of the National Assembly of Pakistan from 2010 to 2013.
Early life and education
Awan was born on 25 Ja ...
, member of the National Assembly of Pakistan
The National Assembly ( ur, , translit=Aiwān-e-Zairīñ, , or ur, قومی اسمبلی, Romanization, romanized: ''Qaumi Assembly'') is the lower house, lower legislative house of the bicameralism, bicameral Parliament of Pakistan, which al ...
Arshad Nawaz Chaudhry
professor at Pir Mehr Ali Shah Arid Agriculture University
Pir Mehr Ali Shah Arid Agriculture University, Rawalpindi (PMAS-Arid University) is in Rawalpindi, Punjab, Pakistan. It is named after Pir Meher Ali Shah, a known Hanafi scholar.
The university is ranked at No. 2 in Agriculture/Veterinary cate ...
*Sardar Sikandar Hayat Khan
Sardar Sikandar Hayat Khan ( ur, سردار سِکندر حیات خان) (1 June 1932 – 9 October 2021) was elected as Prime Minister twice and president twice of Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK). He was the longest-serving Prime Minister of AJK ...
, former President and Prime Minister of Azad Kashmir
Azad Jammu and Kashmir (; ), abbreviated as AJK and colloquially referred to as simply Azad Kashmir, is a region administered by Pakistan as a nominally self-governing entitySee:
*
*
* and constituting the western portion of the larger Ka ...
* Shaikh Rasheed Ahmad
Sheikh Rasheed Ahmad ( ur, ; born 6 November 1950) is a Pakistani politician who served as the 38th Interior Minister of Pakistan from 2020 to 2022. He is famous because of his smoking cigars and Laal Haveli. He is the founder and leader of A ...
, Federal Minister of Pakistan, Politician
* Syed Sajjad Bokhari
Syed Sajjad Hussain Bokhari () is a Pakistani politician, author and businessman.
A senior party official and Senator affiliated with Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), he was a close aide of Benazir Bhutto, former Prime Minister of Pakistan, and se ...
, Member of Senate of Pakistan
Senate of Pakistan or Aiwān-e-Bālā Pākistān ( ur, , , literally "Pakistan upper house"), is the upper legislative chamber of the bicameral legislature of Pakistan, and together with the National Assembly makes up the Parliament of Pakista ...
* Ahmad Javed Jilani, President Lahore High Court Bar
* Lieutenant General
Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...
Zorawar Chand Bakhshi
Lieutenant General Zorawar Chand 'Zoru' Bakshi PVSM, MVC, VrC, VSM (21 October 1921 or 2 January 1921As given in the pre-Independence ''Indian Army List''. – 24 May 2018) was a General Officer of the Indian Army, most widely known as one of ...
, retired soldier of the Indian Army, has the distinction of being "India's most decorated General"
* Rahat Kazmi
Rahat Kazmi ( ur, ) is a Pakistani actor, screenwriter, TV news presenter anchorman, and an academician. He has worked in several TV serials for PTV such as 1967's ''Mayaar'', 1974's ''Qurbatain aur Faaslay'' and 1976's Pakistan's first coloure ...
, Actor, intellectual, compere.
* Pervez Khattak
Pervez Khan Khattak ( ur, ; ps, پروېز خان خټک; born 1 January 1950) is a Pakistani politician and a member of PTI who served as the Defence Minister of Pakistan from 20 August 2018 until the dissolution of National Assembly on 3 ...
, Chief Minister of KPK
* Ahmad Taufiq Jilani, Colonel Commandant, 16 Punjab Regiment, ISI Lahore & Peshawar
* Pervez Rashid
Pervaiz Rashid ( ur, ) is a Pakistani politician, and the former Federal Minister of Information, Broadcasting, and National Heritage and Minister for Law, Justice and Human Rights in the Third Sharif ministry. A member of Pakistan Muslim Le ...
, Information Minister of Pakistan and Senior Leader of Pakistan Muslim League (N)
The Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) ( ur, , translit=Pākistān Muslim Līg (Nūn) PML(N) or PML-N) is a Centre-right politics, centre-right and Liberal conservatism, liberal conservative political party in Pakistan. Alongside the Pakistan Teh ...
* Jehangir Karamat
General Jehangir Karamat ( ur, ; born 20 February 1941) best known as JK, is a senior Pakistan Army officer who served as the 6th Chief of Army Staff of Pakistan Army, from 12 January 1996 to 6 October 1998. diplomat, public intellectual, ...
, General Jehangir Karamat, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee, Pakistan Armed Forces
The Pakistan Armed Forces (; ) are the military forces of Pakistan. It is the world's sixth-largest military measured by active military personnel and consist of three formally uniformed services—the Army, Navy, and the Air Force, which are ...
[
* ]Tariq Mehmood
Brigadier Tariq Mehmood (8 Oct 1938 – 29 May 1989) was a Pakistani military officer of Pakistan Army. He was serving as the Commander of Pakistan Army's Special Service Group (SSG), when he died in an accident in 1989 due to malfunctioning ...
, Brigadier Tariq Mehmood SJ and Bar, Brig TM, Tiger of SSG
* Qamar Javed Bajwa
General Qamar Javed Bajwa ( ur, ; born 11 November 1960) is a retired Pakistani army general who served as the tenth Chief of the Army Staff of Pakistan from 29 November 2016 to 29 November 2022. In 2018 he was ranked 68th in the ''Forbes' ...
, General, Chief of Army Staff, Pakistan Armed Forces
The Pakistan Armed Forces (; ) are the military forces of Pakistan. It is the world's sixth-largest military measured by active military personnel and consist of three formally uniformed services—the Army, Navy, and the Air Force, which are ...
[
* ]Khalil-ur-Rehman Ramday
Honourable Justice
Khalil-ur-Rehman Ramday ( Punjabi, ) is a Pakistani jurist who served as judge of the Supreme Court of Pakistan. He remained permanent judge of Supreme Court from 2002 to 2010. He was born in Lahore on 13 January 1945. ...
, Former Judge of the Supreme Court of Pakistan
The Supreme Court of Pakistan ( ur, ; ''Adālat-e-Uzma Pākistān'') is the apex court in the judicial hierarchy of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan.
Established in accordance to thePart VIIof the Constitution of Pakistan, it has ultimate a ...
[
* Fateh Muhammad Malik, literary critic, linguist and a scholar][
* Jamshed Gulzar Kiani, Lieutenant General, Chairman of the Federal Public Service Commission][
* ]Raja Saroop Khan
Lieutenant General Raja Saroop Khan ( ur, ) was a career Pakistan Army officer who served as the Governor of Punjab from 1995 to 1996.
Raja Saroop Khan was commissioned in the 7th PMA Long Course from Pakistan Military Academy
Pakistan ...
, Lieutenant General, Governor of Punjab from 1995 to 1996[
* Azhar Lodhi, newscaster and commentator at the ]Pakistan Television Corporation
Pakistan Television Corporation ( ur, ; reporting name: PTV) is the Pakistani state-owned broadcaster. Pakistan entered the television broadcasting age in 1964, with a pilot television station established at Lahore.
Background
Historical co ...
(PTV)[
* ]Ismail Gulgee
Ismail Gulgee (Urdu: ; 25 October 1926 – 16 December 2007), also known simply as Gulgee, was a Pakistani painter.
Born in Peshawar, he received his early education at Lawrence College before attending Aligarh University, Columbia Uni ...
, notable painter artist of Pakistan[
* ]Shyam (actor)
Sunder Shyam Chadda (20 February 1920 – 25 April 1951) was an Indian actor in Hindi cinema. He began his career in 1942 and worked in over 30 films until his death in 1951 at the age of 31.
Early life and career
Shyam was born Sunder Shyam Ch ...
, Indian Hindi film actor[
* ]Balraj Sahni
Brigadier Balraj (born Balasegaram Kandiah) was a senior commander of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).
Early life
Balraj was the fifth and youngest child of Kandiah and Kannagias. He received his primary education in Kokkuthoduwaai ...
, Indian film and stage actor[
* ]Master Tara Singh
Master Tara Singh (24 June 1885 – 22 November 1967) was an Indian Sikh political and religious figure in the first half of the 20th century. He was instrumental in organising the Shiromani Gurdwara Prabhandak Committee and guiding the Sikhs d ...
, veteran Indian politician[
]
See also
* Islamabad College for Boys
Islamabad College for Boys (ICB) is the oldest boys college in Islamabad, Pakistan, under the administration of Federal Directorate of Education (FDE). It is situated in Sector G-6/3 near Melody and Siraj Covered Markets.
History
It was establis ...
* Ralph Randles Stewart
References
External links
{{coord missing, Punjab, Pakistan
Educational institutions established in 1893
Universities and colleges in Rawalpindi District
1893 establishments in British India
Nationalisation in Pakistan