Islamia College University

Islamia College, Peshawar is a public research university located in midst of Peshawar, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan.Founded by the personal initiatives led by Sir S.A. Qayyum and Sir George Roos-Keppel in 1913, it is one the oldest institution of higher education in Pakistan, and its historical roots are traced from the culminating point of the Aligarh Movement. The university provides higher learning in fine arts, humanities and modern sciences. In 1950, the University of Peshawar was founded as an offshoot of Islamia College Peshawar, with the later being associated to the university as a constituent college. Initially established as Islamia College, it was granted university status by the Government of Pakistan in 2008; the word college is retained in its title for preserving its historical roots.ConceptionWhen the new province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (previously N.W.F.P) was formed in 1901 after its separation from the Punjab, there was only one college (Edwardes College) in whole province. This scarcity of quality educational institutions forced local youth to travel to faraway regions of the country (British India) in pursuit of higher education. This same lack of educational opportunities in the region motivated Nawab Sir Sahibzada Abdul Qayyum and Sir George Roos-Keppel to establish an institution that would not only cater the academic needs of the region but also produce leaders from the region.