GC University Lahore Reverts to Historic Name Under New Punjab Legislation
Punjab government orders six public higher education institutions to drop 'University' from their names, with GCU Lahore returning to its historic identity as Government College Lahore.
The Punjab government has directed six public-sector higher education institutions to remove the word 'University' from their official names, a move that will see Government College University Lahore revert to its historic identity as Government College Lahore. The change follows the Public Sector Universities (Amendment) Act, 2026, with a notification issued on October 23 by the Punjab Higher Education Department instructing vice chancellors and rectors to implement the revised names accordingly.
The decision carries particular significance for the Lahore institution, which had operated as Government College Lahore for more than a century before gaining university status in 2002. Established on January 1, 1864, with just nine students, the college grew into one of the country's leading centres of higher learning, attaining degree-awarding status in 1997. Its long history is tied to notable figures including educationist Dr G.W. Leitner, national poet Allama Iqbal and Nobel laureate Dr Abdus Salam.
The other institutions covered by the notification are Government College Faisalabad, Government College for Women Faisalabad, Government College for Women Sialkot, Government Sadiq College Bahawalpur and Lahore College for Women. According to the notification, the restoration of the older names will not alter the institutions' mandates or their functions related to higher education.
The department has asked the concerned institutions to take the necessary action in line with the provisions of the act, though the notification does not set a completion deadline. It also remains unclear how the name change will be reflected in the academic certificates of current students and graduates, since altering a legal name typically requires consistent documentation to prevent discrepancies between existing and future records.
The move has been welcomed by some former students. Nadeem Malek, an alumnus, described it as an excellent development and said restoring the historic name had been the wish of thousands of old graduates. He added that the college, once regarded as a top institution, had declined in recent years and urged the government to focus equally on restoring its historic academic standards.
