ISLAMABAD, Pakistan: Allama Iqbal Open University (AIOU) will start LLB classes from next year, after meeting specific legal requirements of Pakistan Bar Council.
The statuary body of the university has already approved the programme which is now in process of finalizing matters relating to its Faculty and course material, said Vice Chancellor Professor Dr. Shahid Siddiqui while presiding over the meeting of Faculty Board of Social Sciences and Humanities.
The Board also conceded the LLB’s programme besides M.Phil (Professional Track) program for the working journalists, to be launched from next year as well.
It approved in principally establishment of two separate departments within Faculty of Social sciences that is department of Psychology and department of Politics and international relations.
The Board considered and approved a heavy academic agenda, presented by Dean Faculty of Social Sciences Professor Dr. Syed Abdu Siraj.
The LLB three-year programme will be a model one that is not meant to earn money but to provide quality `law education’ to the aspiring students, Dr. Shahid Siddiqui said adding a separate space for this purpose has been earmarked at the University’s main Campus (Academic block).
The university’s central library is being equipped with necessary law books, courts’ cases and other relevant material and in a first step, this programme will be started with a limited number of students from Rawalpindi and Islamabad region.
The space allocated for this purpose will have special symbolic `Court-Room’, enabling the law students to acquaint themselves with the actual court’s proceeding.
AIOU is already successfully running LLM (in Shariah) classes attracting a good number of students every year.
The Faculty Board, adopting futuristic approach, also approved and considered some other new academic programmes of higher education level, relating to gender and women studies, Pakistani languages, Management Sciences, history, commerce, Criminology, sociology, Islamic banking, Library sciences and disaster management.
The approved programmes are in line with principles, laid down by the Higher Education Commission and these will be formally launched at the earliest after fulfilling other necessary process.
Dr. Siddiqui said qualitative improvement was brought about in the academic programmes so that it could meet new challenges and help to serve the society.
