LHC Moved Against Universities Name Change
A petition has been filed in the Lahore High Court against the universities name change in Punjab, which removed the word university from the names of six public sector varsities. The petition asks the court to restore their former title of college.
The petitioner, Raheela Murtaza, is an MS student at the Government Sadiq College for Women (University) in Bahawalpur. She filed the petition through Advocate Aftab Mubarik.
The petition mainly challenges the Public Sector Universities (Amendment) Act 2026, Act XXIII of 2026, published in the Punjab Gazette on May 6, 2026, and the notification issued by the Higher Education Department on October 23, 2026, through which the word university was removed from the names of six higher education institutions.
Universities name change challenged over consultation
The petition says the amendment downgraded the names of the institutions without consulting the stakeholders, including vice chancellors, faculty members, academic bodies and students.
It argues that the decision could harm the academic standing, international recognition, research records and global rankings of the institutions concerned, as well as degree verification for thousands of current and former students.
The petition says the change could also create problems for graduates seeking jobs, higher education and immigration-related credential checks abroad, because their degrees and academic records carry the previous university names.
The petition asks the court to declare the amendment unconstitutional and illegal to the extent that it changes the status and names of the affected universities.
Vice chancellors had already sought a repeal
The court petition follows a representation by the vice chancellors of the six institutions, who had urged the provincial government to repeal the amendment. The vice chancellors warned that the change could damage the universities’ standing and graduates’ degree verification.
In their joint representation, the heads of the six institutions said the change had been introduced without consulting the universities’ stakeholders. They warned it would cause academic, legal and reputational problems without offering any clear benefit.
The six institutions are Government College University Lahore, Lahore College for Women University, Government College University Faisalabad, Government College Women University Faisalabad, Government College Women University Sialkot, and Government Sadiq College Women University Bahawalpur.
The vice chancellors met Higher Education Department Secretary Ghulam Fareed and submitted a representation to the Speaker’s office, seeking an immediate repeal of the law. Students, faculty members and other stakeholders were deeply concerned, they said, because the move could undermine an institutional identity built over more than two decades.
What the name changes mean for students
The renaming issue first surfaced when the Punjab government amended the Public Sector Universities Act and then issued the October notification. The name changes were reported when they were first announced, and Lahore College for Women University was among the institutions affected.
For students, the stakes are practical. Degrees, transcripts and verification letters carry the old university names, while official records now use the new ones. That gap can slow down job applications, admissions abroad and visa checks, where credential bodies compare documents against recognised institution names.
Rankings also depend on consistent institutional records. A change in name can split an institution’s research record across two identities, which weakens its standing in global tables. Pakistani universities have been working to lift their place in Asian rankings.
The court has not yet fixed a date for hearing the petition. If it admits the case, the judges will have to weigh the government’s power to rename institutions against the students’ claim that the change harms their degrees and the universities’ standing.
Frequently asked questions
What does the LHC petition challenge?
It challenges the removal of the word university from the names of six public sector varsities in Punjab, under the Public Sector Universities (Amendment) Act 2026 and a Higher Education Department notification of October 23, 2026.
Who filed the petition?
Raheela Murtaza, an MS student at the Government Sadiq College for Women (University) in Bahawalpur, filed it through Advocate Aftab Mubarik.
Which six institutions are affected?
Government College University Lahore, Lahore College for Women University, Government College University Faisalabad, Government College Women University Faisalabad, Government College Women University Sialkot, and Government Sadiq College Women University Bahawalpur.
Why do students oppose the name change?
The petition says it could harm academic standing, international recognition, research records and global rankings, and create problems with degree verification for jobs, higher education and immigration checks abroad.
