Lahore College for Women University (LCWU), a reputed institution for women’s education in Lahore, turned 99 today. It’s centenary celebrations are being started which will be continued till May next year.
Lahore College for Women was spreading the light of knowledge even before the establishment of Pakistan. When the college was upgraded to a university in 2002, the reputation and identity of this ancient educational institution increased significantly. Due to the act passed by the Punjab Assembly in this regard, it was renamed as Lahore College for Women University. In the new name, Lahore College, as a brand, remained inevitable part of the varsity.
After it’s upgradation LCWU introduced subjects that were in tune with modern requirements and strengthened the confidence of the students in the institution. At present Lahore College for Women University is offering BS Honors, M.Phil and Ph.D in 41 different fields besides Intermediate.
Students from all over the country in general and from all over Punjab in particular are desirous of admission here. Entering its 100th year, Lahore College for Women University has some distinctions which can rightly be called its good fortune. Educationist Prof Dr Bushra Mirza (T.I.) is its Vice-Chancellor who took over the post about two years ago.
In the year 2020 and again in the year 2021, Lahore College for Women University has achieved proud achievements in the rankings. The improvement in the rankings last year was further enhanced in the second consecutive year.
According to the list released by World Universities Elect Ranking 2020, Lahore College for Women University secured the first position in Pakistan and the 15th position in the world in the gender equality category.
Similarly, Lahore College for Women University came in the top 400 universities in the world in the partnership goals category. Vice-Chancellor Prof Dr Bushra Mirza said that achieving 7th position in the category of Gender Equality is definitely an honour and this honour is the result of hard work and dedication of all the staff of the University.
Her commitment and goal is to make Lahore College one of the best universities in the world. She termed this unique ranking as a good omen for women’s education in the country. Dr Bushra Mirza hopes that in 2022, when the university will be celebrating its centenary, its ranking will be even better.
The Punjab government along with other universities allotted land to LCWU for a new campus at Kalashah Kaku but no civil work has been done there for the last five years. Now, the Higher Education Commission of Pakistan has approved the new campus phase one project of LCWU and it will be completed in 3 years. The HEC approved funds of Rs 1776.455 million for the proposed project at the DDWP meeting.
Vice-Chancellor Prof Dr Bushra Mirza is pleased with the progress and says that departments of the Institute of Environment and Climate Change, Nursing and Law will be set up in Phase One of the 100-acre Kalashah Kaku new campus. Female hostels will also be built. Dr Bushra is grateful to the Higher Education Commission for approving the project.
LCWU, with a full time enrolment of about 14,000 students and a teaching faculty of more than 500 members, is one of the most prestigious institutions of Pakistan. It admits students at the Intermediate, Graduate, Masters and Ph.D. levels.
University is offering M.A/M.Sc. in 6 subjects and MS/M.Phil degree in 28 subjects. The University is also offering Ph.D. programs in 16 disciplines i.e. Chemistry, Bio-Technology, Botany,Zoology, Computer Science, City & Regional Planning, Mathematics, Environmental Science, Physics, Political Science, Education, Applied Psychology, Islamic Studies, Urdu, Punjabi and Fine Arts.
LCWU by 1922 was affiliated with the University of the Punjab for undergraduate program in 18 subjects. Within the next two years the institution had graduate programs in 14 subjects. Post graduate classes in English were initiated in 1940 and Honours classes in five subjects were introduced in 1949. B.Sc. classes started in 1955 while Post-graduate classes in the subjects of Economics and Physics started in 1966. By 1979 Islamic Studies, Political Science and Psychology were also added to the ever increasing list of programs.
LCWU has crossed the milestone of making the entire admission system online. Due to the covid, when students and parents have difficulty in leaving their homes, the Directorate of Information Technology, Lahore College, under the leadership of Prof Dr Abuzar Fahim, developed an online admission module. Thanks to online admission system, LCWU is more positive for admissions than previous years.