BAHAWALPUR: The Islamia University of Bahawalpur (IUB) can contribute 30 billion dollars to the National Economy through Research Projects in Cotton, Soyabean, Intercropping and Rain Enhancement to Convert Cholistan into Food Basket of Pakistan.
The Bahawalpur region has been a center of learning and civilization for centuries. The Jamia Abbasia was founded in 1925. In 1975, a special act of the Punjab Assembly made the Islamia University Bahawalpur a Chartered University.
In July 2019, the government appointed Dr. Athar Mahboob, a scientist and educationist engineer, as Vice Chancellor of the Islamia University of Bahawalpur.
Prof. Dr. Athar Mahboob had already proved his mettle by establishing Khawaja Farid University of Engineering and Information Technology in just 3 years in Rahim Yar Khan, the last district of South Punjab.
In just 3 years after taking over the responsibility of Jamia Islamia Bahawalpur, he has made historically important university of South Punjab one of the first 1000 universities in the world as per vision of its founders.
During his tenure, a new vision of the university was formulated to make the university a world class educational and research institution, an engine for the social and economic development of the region and its mission was to become a social and economic leader through high quality teaching and research.
Prof. Dr. Athar Mahboob also formulated the values of the IUB Tolerant, Honest, Eco-Friendly, Innovative, Understanding and Beneficial.
A closer look reveals that Islamia University Bahawalpur has made remarkable progress in the last three years in adhering to these values.
According to the Times Higher Education IU-Green Matrix and Samiaigo rankings, Islamia University Bahawalpur has made remarkable progress in various categories.
In particular, in the Higher Education Rankings, Islamia University Bahawalpur has been included in the top 500 universities in Asia and the top 1000 universities in the world.
The number of students in July 2019 was around 13,500 which has now increased to more than 57,000.
All this was made possible by the excellent admission policy and online admission portal.
Admission Directorate has been established in the university and thousands of admissions have been ensured through merit-based admission policy and easy admission procedure.
The university currently has more than 1,250 full-time faculty members, up from 450 in July 2019, of whom more than 700 have PhDs. In the next few months, the number of full-time teachers will increase to 1,500 with 1,000 PhDs.
An important initiative of the Vice Chancellor is the appointment of M.Phil and Ph.D. Scholars in hundreds of teaching and research assistance positions. With their help, manpower for teaching and research activities has been made available within the university and research scholars have also been provided temporary employment in related fields.
Similarly, hundreds of M.Phil youths have been appointed in the form of Associate Lecturers, most of whom are now Lecturers. The financial strength of any organization is a sign of its growth and stability.
During the tenure of Prof. Dr. Athar Mahboob, the financial department of the University has also made extraordinary and incredible progress.
The University has increased its sources of income by 300% and today Islamia University Bahawalpur is bearing 80% of its expenses from its own sources.
The total budget of the university in 2019 was Rs 3.8 billion which has now increased to exceed Rs 8.8 billion. Similarly, the development budget in 2019 was Rs 1 billion which has now increased to Rs 4 billion.
The Islamia University Bahawalpur needed an extraordinary increase in infrastructure in view of the extraordinary increase in the number of students and faculty and the extraordinary increase in the number of teaching departments and campuses. In 2019, the number of faculties was 7 which has increased to 15 today.
The number of teaching departments has increased from 48 to 132 and new university campuses are being set up at Ahmad Pur East and Liaquat Pur.
Under the development package of Rs. 4 billion from the federal government, Ahmad Pur East Campus, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Institute of Physics, South Punjab Institute of Asgro-Industry, Academic Blocks in Bahawalnagar, Baghdad Ul-Jadeed and Rahim Yar Khan Campuses are being constructed.
The School of State Sciences is being set up by the Punjab government at a cost of Rs. 236 million. Through the Punjab government’s 2.5 MW Solar Photo volte Plant project with a total cost of Rs.305 million, Baghdad ul Jadeed Campus has been solarized.
A system of four major teaching blocks and roads is being set up in the university through a unique public-private partnership project costing Rs. 4 billion. Apart from this, Islamia University Bahawalpur is also working on development projects worth Rs. 4 billion from its own resources.
In 2019, the number of teaching buildings was 15 which has increased to 22 in 2022 and in 2023 this number will increase to 26.
The hostel capacity of 5,000 has been increased to 7,500 which will be increased to 14,000 in 2023. In the year 2019, the number of buses was 43 which has now increased to 85 and 25 more buses are being added to the fleet.
The number of scholarships for students has also increased significantly. In 2018-19, 10,669 students were receiving scholarships worth Rs 36.4 crore. According to the data of 2020-21, the number of scholarship recipients is 13,633 and the value has exceeded to Rs. 920 million.
The Islamia University of Bahawalpur has shown exceptional performance in the field of research.
The IUB can contribute 30 billion dollars in the National Economy through Research Project o Cotton, Soyabean Intercropping and Rain Enhancement Project to Convert Cholistan into Food Basket of Pakistan.
The University’s Faculty of Agriculture has developed multiple varieties of cotton that is highly resistant to local climatic conditions, low water, leaf curve virus and other diseases.
These varieties are being grown on 50 percent of the area under cotton cultivation.
The sale of these seeds is generating an annual income of Rs 100 million for the university and the cotton project of the university could benefit the country to the tune of Rs. 10 billion by reviving the agricultural economy, especially the textile sector and increasing exports.
Similarly, the soybean and corn inter-cropping project, developed in conjunction with China’s Sichuan Agricultural University, could save the country Rs. 5 billion dollarsannually in imports of edible oil and poultry feed.
The Islamia University Bahawalpur is working on a project to cultivate 6 million acres of land in the Cholistan Desert by increasing the rainfall augmentation system in Cholistan with the help of modern technology, which may increase agro-economy by 3 percent. The university is capable to include 30 billion dollars in nation economy.
Today, Islamia University Bahawalpur has become a hub of national and international activities.
The Bahawalpur Literary and Cultural Festival has played a significant role in reviving the literary and cultural activities of the ex-state of Bahawalpur in the region.
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