LAHORE: A petition has been filed in the Lahore High Court, challenging the removal of the word “university” from the names of six public sector varsities and demanding restoration of their former title of “college”.
Petitioner Raheela Murtaza, an MS student at the Government Sadiq College for Women (University), 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 subsequent notification issued by the Higher Education Department on Oct 23, 2026, through which the word “university” was removed from the names of six higher education institutions.
The petition contends that the amendment arbitrarily downgraded the nomenclature of the institutions without consulting the stakeholders, including vice chancellors, faculty members, academic bodies and students.
It argues that the decision could adversely affect the academic standing, international recognition, research records, global rankings of the institutions concerned and degree verification of thousands of current and former students.
It claims the change could also create complications for the graduates seeking employment, higher education and immigration-related credential verification abroad, as their degrees and academic records carry the previous university names.
The petition asks the court to declare the impugned amendment unconstitutional and illegal to the extent that it changes the status and nomenclature of the affected universities.
Published in Dawn, November 13th, 2026
