AIOU shuts down old MBA programme, introduces new
Islamabad, Aug 23: The Allama Iqbal Open University (AIOU) has launched a new Masters of Business Administration (MBA) programme for the year 2011, closing down old MBA Programme that suffered a huge loss of Rs 20 million while nearly 3,000 students across the country were deprived of provision of degrees, above all wastage of time.

AIOU officials on condition of anonymity told this scribe that university was running MBA programmes in banking & finance, human resource management and information technology management, for the last six years with two years duration.

He said in 2008 Higher Education Commission (HEC) AIOU MBA department chairman Dr Syed Hassan Raza to chalk out a comprehensive plan of three years MBA programme and closure of the actually running programme of two years that, according to them, failed to impart quality education to students and also resulted in loss of millions of Rs in formulation of new strategy wrapped with nepotism.

Sources further disclosed that Raza failed to chalk out any strategy while the finances being used were the purpose were also wasted and university had to abandon it that cost Rs 20 million per annum and all in vain. "Ultimately, the administration was left with no option but closing the programme. Meanwhile, HEC wrote a letter to AIOU administration to restructure MBA programme for the duration of three years further advise AIOU to introduce four years BBA program which was previously being run in two years to meet the HEC requirements," sources informed.

They apprised that that these programmes were running but uncertainty prevails among 3,000 students of the country. "Now AIOU has started admissions in 3.5 years MBA programme with four specializations (HRM, marketing management, banking & finance and information technology management) but the old students future is bleak. "In this regard, students have contacted VC AIOU personally and also written applications were moved requesting for help helpless and hopeless," he said.

Students of MBA programmes claimed that chairman of the department Dr Hassan Raza was responsible for not formulating new MBA strategy but swindled students in the name of this programme. They said, under supervision of chairman, it was very difficult for students to pass the examination in first attempt even though student is competent enough to pass the exams.

The official of AIOU maintained that annual loss of Rs 20 million in MBA haddamaged the overall repute and dignity of university. "Earlier, the tempering of admission forms/ slips of thousands of students, not conducting internal audit, administrative and admission nuisance, number of various problems of students across the country have also appeared in recent months," he said.