Editing Allama Iqbal Open University

{{Short description|Public university in Islamabad, Pakistan}}
{{Use Pakistani English|date=May 2020}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2018}}

{{Infobox university
 | name                   = Allama Iqbal Open University
 | native_name            = '''علامہ اقبال اوپن یونیورسٹی'''
 | image_name             = Allama Iqbal Open University logo.png
 | image_size             = 
 | motto                  = 'Education for All'
 | established            = {{Start date and age|1974}}
 | closed                 = <!-- {{End date|YYYY}} -->
 | type                   = [[Public university|Public]]
 | endowment              = [[Government of Pakistan]]
 | chancellor             = [[President of Pakistan]]
 | vice_chancellor        = Prof. Dr. Nasir Mahmood<ref name=Tribune>{{cite news|url=https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/1013142-dr-nasir-appointed-acting-vc-of-aiou |newspaper=The News (newspaper) |date=24 November 2022|title=Dr Nasir appointed acting VC of AIOU
|access-date=11 May 2023}}</ref>
 | academic_staff         = 2899
 | administrative_staff   = 
 | students               = 1,326,266
 | city                   = [[Islamabad]]-44000
 | province               = 
 | country                = [[Pakistan]]
 | coordinates            = {{coord|33.68285319081896|73.05725156600758|display=inline,title}}
 | campus                 = [[Urban area|Urban]]
 | colours                = [[Sky blue]], [[Orange (colour)|orange]], [[white]]<br />{{color box|#87CEEB}}{{color box|#FF7F00}}{{color box|#FFFFFF}}
 | other_name             = '''AIOU'''
 | mascot                 = 
 | affiliations           = [[Higher Education Commission (Pakistan)]]<ref name=BR/><br />[[Pakistan Engineering Council]]<ref name=APP/>
 | website                = {{URL|https://www.aiou.edu.pk/}}
}}

'''Allama Iqbal Open University''' is a [[public university]] in [[Islamabad]], [[Pakistan]]. It is named after [[Allama Muhammad Iqbal]], the country's national poet. It is the [[List of largest universities and university networks by enrollment|world's fifth largest]] institution of higher learning in terms of enrolment, with an annual enrollment of 1,121,038 students ({{as of|2010|lc=y}}), the majority are women and course enrollment of 3,305,948 (2011).<ref name="Brief history" /> Students can gain admission in Matriculation, Intermediate, Bachelor, Master, MPhil and Ph.D. programmes at the university.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Programmes |url=https://aiou.edu.pk/Ed_Programmes.asp |access-date=2022-06-08 |website=aiou.edu.pk |archive-date=26 September 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220926065445/https://aiou.edu.pk/Ed_Programmes.asp |url-status=dead }}</ref>

[[File:Iqbal.jpg|thumb|right|[[Muhammad Iqbal|Allama Muhammad Iqbal]], then president of the [[Punjab Muslim League|Muslim League]] in 1930 and address deliverer]]

The university has 44 regional campuses and centers throughout Pakistan including in [[Faisalabad]], [[Multan]], [[Dera Ghazi Khan]], [[Dera Ismail Khan]], [[Bahawalpur]] and [[Rahim Yar Khan]].<ref name="BR" /><ref name="paknetmag" /><ref name="Dawn">{{cite news |author=Malik |first=Fahad |date=1 September 2016 |title=Online learning |newspaper=[[Dawn (newspaper)|Dawn]] |url=https://www.dawn.com/news/1281161 |access-date=9 June 2022}}</ref>

==Objectives and mission==
Established in May 1974 under Act No. XXXIX passed by the Parliament of Pakistan,<ref>{{Cite web |title=AIOU AT A GLANCE {{!}} Education For All |url=https://www.aiou.edu.pk/aiou-glance |access-date=2023-06-08 |website=www.aiou.edu.pk}}</ref> it is [[Asia]]'s first open university with a strong emphasis on providing [[distance education]] in [[philosophy]], [[natural science]] and [[social sciences]].<ref name=paknetmag/><ref name=Dawn/><ref name="Listing programs">{{cite web|title=Listing programs|url=http://www.aiou.edu.pk/ProgrammesList.asp?P=BACHELOR|publisher=Listing programs|access-date=3 May 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130919160424/http://www.aiou.edu.pk/ProgrammesList.asp?P=BACHELOR|archive-date=19 September 2013|url-status=dead|df=dmy-all}}</ref> It has the most applicants per year of any university in Pakistan.

AIOU offers extensive [[undergraduate]] and [[post-graduate]] programs in academic disciplines.<ref name="Education programs at AIOU">{{cite web|title=Education programs at AIOU|url=http://www.aiou.edu.pk/EducationalProgrammes.asp|publisher=Education programs at AIOU|access-date=3 May 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130924105139/http://www.aiou.edu.pk/EducationalProgrammes.asp|archive-date=24 September 2013|url-status=dead|df=dmy-all}}</ref> After witnessing the success of the [[Open University]] in the [[United Kingdom]], AIOU was established as a public university in 1974.<ref name="Brief history">{{cite web|title=Brief history|url=http://www.aiou.edu.pk/BriefHistory.asp|access-date=3 May 2020|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130915143537/http://www.aiou.edu.pk/BriefHistory.asp|archive-date=15 September 2013}}</ref>

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 specialised fund managed by the government.<ref name=paknetmag/><ref name="Brief history" />

AIOU is open to everyone and provides education to all without any discrimination.<ref name=paknetmag>{{cite web|url=https://paknetmag.blogspot.com/search/label/Stamps%20of%20Pakistan%20Year%27s%201999|title=25 Years of Allama Iqbal Open University, Islamabad (scroll down to this section with University Profile)|website=paknetmag.com website|access-date=2 May 2020}}</ref>

==Administration and governance==
* Chancellor ([[President of Pakistan]])
* Pro-Chancellor (Federal Minister for Education, Ministry of Federal Education and Professional Training)
* Vice-Chancellor (Chief Executive Officer/Head of the institution)
* Executive Council (Governing Body)

==Faculties and departments==
===Faculty of Arabic and Islamic Studies===
Established in 1974, the faculty was upgraded as the Faculty of Arabic and Islamic Studies in 1998, with the following departments:
* [[Arabic Language]] and [[Arabic literature|Literature]] 
* [[Hadith]] and [[Seerah]] 
* [[Fiqh|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]]<ref name=paknetmag/> 
* Distance and Non-Formal Education<ref name=paknetmag/> 
* 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]]<ref name=BR/>
* [[Chemistry]]
* [[Information Technology]]
* [[Computer Science]]<ref name="BR">{{cite news |author=Fayyaz |first=Usama |date=22 July 2019 |title=Allama Iqbal Open University (AIOU) launches four-year BS programmes |newspaper=[[Business Recorder]] |url=https://www.brecorder.com/2019/07/22/511608/aiou-launches-four-year-bs-programmes/ |access-date=2 May 2020}}</ref>
* Engineering and Technology (Bachelor of Engineering in Telecommunications)
* [[Environmental Sciences]]<ref name=BR/><ref name=Tribune/> 
* Home and [[Health Sciences]] 
* [[Mathematics]] and [[Statistics]]<ref name=Tribune/><ref name=BR/> 
* [[Physics]]<ref name=BR/><ref name=Tribune/>
* [[Telecommunications]]<ref name=APP>{{cite web|url=http://app.com.pk/en_/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=46970 |archive-date=23 June 2015|date=1 May 2014|title=Allama Iqbal Open University (AIOU) gets accreditation of BE Telecom from Pakistan Engineering Council (PEC)|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150623205636/http://app.com.pk/en_/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=46970 |website=Associated Press of Pakistan website|access-date=3 May 2020}}</ref>

===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]]<ref name=Tribune/>
* [[Commerce]]
* [[Economics]]
* [[English major|English Language]] and [[Applied Linguistics]]
* [[History]]
* [[Muhammad Iqbal|Iqbal Studies]]
* [[Library and information sciences]]
* [[Mass Communication]]<ref name=BR/>
* [[Pakistan Studies]]
* [[Pakistani languages]]
* [[Sociology]], [[Social Work]] and [[Population studies|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==
[[Pakistan Post]] issued a commemorative postage stamp on 20 November 1999, on the university's 25th anniversary.<ref name=paknetmag/>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*{{Official website|https://www.aiou.edu.pk/}} 

{{Colleges and universities in Islamabad}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Allama Iqbal Open University}}
[[Category:1974 establishments in Pakistan]]
[[Category:Distance education institutions based in Pakistan]]
[[Category:Allama Iqbal Open University| ]]
[[Category:Universities and colleges established in 1974]]
[[Category:Universities and colleges in Islamabad]]
[[Category:Memorials to Muhammad Iqbal]]
[[Category:Public universities and colleges in Pakistan]]