Government M.A.O. Graduate College, Lahore

Government  Muhammadan Anglo Oriental College (abbreviated to  Govt. M.A.O. College Lahore; ;) is a public college located adjacent to Civil Secretariat Lahore. It is among the oldest educational institutions in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan.

It was established in 1933 as MAO College by Anjuman-e-Islamia at Amritsar and Professor S. Mercado was appointed the first principal. It had played a significant role in the creation of Pakistan. After the independence of Pakistan in 1947, the college was shifted to Lahore, in the building of a Hindu established college, Sanatan Dharma College, which was in turn shifted to Ambala, Haryana after partition.

History
In 1933, MAO College was established by the Anjuman-e-Islamia in Amritsar on the pattern of the MAO College Aligarh to overcome the deficiencies of modern education in local Muslims. Professor S. Mercado was appointed the first principal. At the time of Partition, most of the college staff and students migrated to Lahore, where a new MAO College was established with the same pattern and mostly same staff, in the former Sanatan Dharma College premises, which in turn moved to Ambala.



Academics
MAO College is organized into two divisions, the science and arts division. These divisions are further categorized as academic departments. The core departments include Commerce, Information Technology (I.T.), Chemistry, English, Physics, Mathematics, Mass Communication, Philosophy, Psychology, Statistics, and Social Work.

The college offers the Bachelor of Commerce (B.Com.), Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA), Bachelor of Science (B.S.) Physics, Psychology, English, Mathematics, I.T., Mass Communication, and BS Chemistry degrees at the undergraduate level, and the Master of Arts (M.A.) in English Literature, Urdu, Economics, Mass Communication, Master of Science (M.Sc.) in Mathematics, and M.Sc. Applied Psychology degrees at the graduate level.

There are separate blocks for each level of education. For example, Kramat Block is associated with the Intermediate level, Commerce Block hosts undergraduate students and Postgraduate Block is devoted to Masters Classes. Dilwar Block and Physics Block are currently in the renovation process and are not operational yet. The college has a state of the art, multimedia enriched Auditorium, which is often used to organize different events.

Programs offered
Govt. M.A.O. College Lahore is currently offering educational programs at three levels (Intermediate, Undergraduate, and Postgraduate):

Intermediate
MAO College offers Intermediate programs only for boys and there is no co-education at this level. The College offers:
 * F.A.
 * F.Sc. (Pre-Medical)
 * F.Sc. (Pre-Engineering)
 * G.Sc.
 * I.Com
 * I.C.S (Physics)
 * I.C.S (Statistics)

Undergraduate
Govt. M.A.O. College Lahore provides BS Honors (4-Year) co-education program at the undergraduate level. The College is affiliated with University of the Punjab which has allowed these programs:
 * BBA
 * B.Com.
 * BS Botany
 * BS Chemistry
 * BS Economics
 * BS English
 * BS Information Technology
 * BS Mathematics
 * BS Mass Communication
 * BS Physics
 * BS Psychology

Postgraduate
The college offers the following co-education postgraduate programs:
 * M.A. yeryey
 * M.A. English
 * M.A. Mass Communication
 * M.A. Urdu
 * M.Sc. Mathematics
 * M.Sc. Applied Psychology

College magazine
College magazine “IQRA” is published annually under the supervision of College Magazine and Publication Committee with English, Urdu and Punjabi sections to explore the literary potentials of the students through their writings. Due to undisclosed reasons magazine could not be published in the three years (from 2010 to 2013). However, last Principal Prof. Rashid Najeeb took the responsibility and it was due to his efforts that “IQRA” was published again in 2014.

Sports
MAO College is also well known for co-curricular, extracurricular, and sports activities. College students often take part in College, Board, and University level competitions. Cricket, Field Hockey, and Football teams are major representations of Govt. M.A.O. College in the sports fields. The college's alumni include many national players like Saeed Ajmal, Saqlain Mushtaq, Taufeeq Umar, and Salman Akbar.

Notable alumni
Alumni of Govt. M.A.O. College Lahore include:

Literature and arts

 * Atta-ul-Haq Qasmi (poet, columnist, fournalist)
 * Amjad Islam Amjad (poet)
 * Masood Akhtar (actor)

Politics

 * Khawaja Saad Rafique (former Minister for Pakistan Railways, politician, member of PML - N)

Controversies
Government M.A.O College became topic of headlines in late 2019 after the suicide of an English professor after alleged harassment accusations which were later founded to be false.

Principal Aliyah Rahman was caught up in controversy after she physically abused and tortured a female student of the Mass Communication department and threatened her to keep silent. Principal Aliyah Rahman also abused her powers and took senior professors and union leaders hostage when they were protesting against the Government. Principal Aliyah Rahman has also been reported to have displayed racism towards Pashtun and Balouch students.