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Other name | GCU |
|---|---|
Former names | Government College (GC) |
| Motto |
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| Type | Public |
| Established | 1864; 161 years ago (1864) |
| Accreditation | |
| Chancellor | Governor of the Punjab |
| Vice-Chancellor | Dr. Rana Waleed[1] |
Academic staff | 454[2] |
Administrative staff | 103[2] |
| Students | 10,662[2] |
| Undergraduates | 5,831[2] |
| Postgraduates | 1,712[2] |
| 520[2] | |
Other students | Intermediate, Certifications[2] |
| Location | ,, Pakistan 31°34′24″N74°18′28″E / 31.5732°N 74.3079°E /31.5732; 74.3079 |
| Campus | Urban |
| Colours | Royal blue, goldenrod, maroon |
| Website | gcu |
TheGovernment College University (colloquially known asGCU;Punjabi,Urdu:گورنمنٹ کالج یونیورسٹی) is apublicresearch university inLahore,Punjab,Pakistan. Founded as Government College, Lahore, in 1864 underBritish administration, it became auniversity in 2002.
In 1864,Government College was established by theBritish government in India.[3][4] After being elevated to university status in 2002, it has become one the ten largest educational institutions in Pakistan,[citation needed] with a student body of over 12,000. It has 32 academic departments, segregated into five faculties. There are five research centers, focused on academic and industrial research and development projects. The university secured the second place in the general category by the Higher Education Commission (HEC) in 2013.[5] It has the highest graduation rate in the country, with an average of 94.6% annually.[6][7] In Government College University, the medium of instruction isEnglish.
Government College University is noted for its historical roots and produced notable scholars such aspoet-philosopherAllama Muhammad Iqbal,Nobel laureatesHar Gobind Khorana andAbdus Salam, former president of both theUnited Nations General Assembly and theInternational Court of JusticeMuhammad Zafarullah Khan, scholar and novelist coupleBano Qudsia andAshfaq Ahmed. Among its graduates are also fourprime ministers and one caretaker prime minister of Pakistan.
Originally, the establishment of a central college in Lahore was sanctioned in 1856 by theBritish Raj, given that the teachers were fromUniversity of Oxford,University of Cambridge,Dublin University HC orDurham University. Under the leadership ofGottlieb Wilhelm Leitner, a professor ofArabic andIslamic Law atKing's College London, the college was established on 1 January 1864, located in thePalace ofRaja Dhyan Singh Haveli (Dogra prime minister of Sikh ruler MaharajaRanjit Singh of Lahore) insideWalled City of Lahore, as anaffiliated college ofCalcutta University.
In April 1871, the college moved to a large Bungalow nearAnarkali Bazaar. In 1873, its location was again changed to another house calledRahim Khan's Kothi due to rapidly increasing student strength. It moved to its present building in 1876.
The first principal wasGottlieb Wilhelm Leitner, whose name is closely attached to the college. In 1882, Leitner was very instrumental in laying the foundation ofPunjab University, Lahore. Thereafter, the college would remain affiliated with Punjab University for 115 years. In 1997,government of the Punjab gave Government College autonomy in all affairs and granted degree awarding status.[3]
In 2002, it was promoted to university status by the government of Punjab; the wordcollege was retained in its title for preserving its historical roots.[8]
Positioned inDowntown Lahore, it is located at the junction ofThe Mall, Lahore and the Lower Mall, surrounded by main business and administrative areas, schools, colleges andPunjab University old Campus. The main building was designed by W. Purdon and completed in 1877 at a cost of Rs. 320,000. In the centre of the main building stands a 176' tall clock tower. Built during the colonial era, the main building reflects theneo-Gothic tradition, with broad verandahs and elevated ceilings. A large ground accompanies the main building, alluded to as the "Oval Ground". In 2019, the ground was renamed "The Leitner Oval", in honour of Gottlieb Wilhelm Leitner, the first principal of the institute.[9] To meet the needs of an increasing number of students, several buildings and blocks have been commissioned which include a postgraduate block, a new block for intermediate students and a bachelors' block which is accessible by anoverhead bridge. The main campus is spread over 56 acres along theAnarkali Bazaar, one of the oldest surviving markets in Lahore.[10]
On 24 August 2019, theKala Shah Kaku campus of the university was inaugurated which is known as GCU KSK campus. The campus is spread over 370 acres, able to house 25,000 students, 1,250 teachers and 650 staff members. 2 hostels are available for accommodation.[11]
On 24 September 2020, the new campus was formally opened to students. A bus shuttle service will operate between both campuses.[12]
The torch, as thecrest of the university emblem, represents the light of knowledge. The motto "Courage to Know" represents the guiding principle of the student community.[13]
The university offers degrees inHigher Secondary School Certificate (locally referred to asIntermediate),undergraduate andpost-graduate studies. In the higher education level, it offers 28bachelor's degrees, 28MS/MPhil Degrees and 19PhD degrees. These degrees are offered under the following faculties:
The university has always been a research-led university, however, in recent times, it has shifted its focus towards quality output projects, which the university believes to be beneficial academically and industrially. Office of Research, Innovation and Commercialization (ORIC) has been set up to manage all research issues. The objective of the office is to advance, diversify and manage all research programs and to uphold international standards of research.[19]
It receives research grants mostly from foreign universities likeStrathclyde University,Cranfield University,World Bank Researchers Alliance for Development andBritish Council and from national institutes and organizations likePakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC),Pakistan Science Foundation (PSF),Khan Research Laboratories (KRL),PTCL, Higher Education Commission andMinistry of Science and Technology.[20]
The university has five autonomous/semi-autonomous, research-oriented institutes, focused on academic and industrial research and development projects. These institutes are:
The Abdus Salam School of Mathematical Sciences (ASSMS) is one of the largest mathematical research institutes in Pakistan.[22] The school was established in 2003 by Government of Punjab under the aegis of Government College University.[23]
In 2011, it was labeled as the first "Emerging Regional Center of Excellence" by theEuropean Mathematical Society (EMS) for the period 2011 to 2015.[24]
It has taken steps to provide encouragement to Pakistani students in schools and colleges. These include:
TheAbdus Salam Chair in Physics, named after the Pakistanitheoretical physicist and Nobel laureate Abdus Salam is an honorary chair inphysics at the university. Starting out as a semi-autonomous institute, it became operational in March 2000 with the efforts ofIshfaq Ahmad, a lifelong friend of Salam. In 2009, theInternational Center for Theoretical Physics (ICTP) donated Salam's original Nobel certificate to the Salam Chair in Physics. The former director of ICTP,Katepalli R. Sreenivasan, visited Lahore where he gifted the original Nobel certificate to the university's alma mater. The certificate reads: "for their contributions to the theory of the unified weak and electromagnetic interaction between elementary particles, including, inter-alia, the prediction of the weak neutral current".[30]
It has been integrated into Department of Physics, where MPhil and PhD students carry out their research work.[31] Some of its achievements include: getting 52 research publications in international journals;[32] producing 6 PhD and 25 MPhil theses; setting up a Plasma Technology Lab; and contracting research grants from funding agencies and research centers such as the International Center for Theoretical Physics (ICTP), Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC), Kahuta Research Laboratories (KRL),[33] Pakistan Science Foundation (PSF)[34] andPakistan Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (PCSIR).[32]
TheRafi Muhammad Chaudhry Chair in Experimental Physics was named afterRafi Muhammad Chaudhry, a renowned Pakistaninuclear physicist and a professor ofparticle physics at the university. He is widely regarded as having been the pioneer ofexperimental nuclear physics research in Pakistan.[35] During his tenure as a professor at the university, he set upHigh Tension Laboratory there in 1952 (now amalgamated into Center for Advanced Studies in PhysicsCASP) where research anent to gaseous discharges, ion, and electron impact phenomena, nuclear physics, radioactivity, and cosmic rays is carried out.
The university set up the chair in recognition of his services to Pakistan and to Physics. Currently, post-graduate research work inApplied Physics is carried out here.[36]
TheMahboob-ul-Haq Chair in Economics is the latest addition to honorary chairs at the university, named afterMahbub ul Haq, a Pakistanieconomist,politician andinternational development theorist who served as the 13thFinance Minister of Pakistan.[37] While serving as the Special Advisor to theUnited Nations Development Program (UNDP), he led the establishment of theHuman Development Report (HDI) and the widely respectedHuman Development Index (HDI).[38]The Economist called him "one of the visionaries of international development."[39]
The university established the chair to recognize his services to Pakistan, its people, and above all to the discipline ofEconomics.[40] Apart from post-graduate research in Economics, the chair is also in charge of publishingGCU Economics Journal an annual scholarly and peer-audited publication. Its intent is to act as a platform for researchers, professionals, and students to share their achievements, perspectives, and practical experiences.[41]
The university has four hostels – three for boys and one for girls.Iqbal Hostel (built in 1891) andQuaid-e-AzamHostel (built in 1993) accommodate about 150 and 200 Intermediate students, respectively. TheNew Hostel (built in 1937) houses about 400 Degree students.Girls Hostel (built in 1975) accommodates about 50 girl students. AFaculty Mess has been built for visiting family members, faculty and officers of the other universities. Lodging and messing facilities are available here.[42]
Alumni of the institute are called Ravians, which is a derived word from the name of the student magazine "Ravi", published by the administration of the college; the magazine name itself is inspired by theRavi River that passes throughLahore.[43]
"The Last Follower and The Resurrection of Voldemort" is Pakistan'Ramon Magsaysay Awardmovie, and it was filmed at GCU, which served asHogwarts in the film. The film is produced by a group of youngRavians which laid the foundation of the annualHarry Potter Festival at GCU.[49]
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