Introduction:
Maulana Azad National Urdu University (MANUU) is a Central University established in 1998 by an Act of Parliament. It is a dual mode University which has been offering its distance education programmes from the year of its inception and campus programmes from 2004. The Headquarters of MANUU is located in Gachibowli, Hyderabad, Telangana State.
MANUU has seven Schools of Studies, 19 Departments, and 11 Directorates and Centres in its Headquarters. It has an Off-Campus in Lucknow; eight Colleges of Teacher Education, one each at, Asansol, Aurangabad, Bhopal, Bidar, Darbhanga, Nuh, Sambhal and Srinagar; five Polytechnics, one each at Bengaluru, Cuttack, Darbhanga, Hyderabad and Kadapa; a College of Arts and Social Sciences for Women in Srinagar; three ITIs one each at Bengaluru, Darbhanga, and Hyderabad; and three Urdu Model Schools, one each at Darbhanga, Hyderabad and Nuh.
The Headquarters is spread over 200 acres. It houses buildings for Administration, all Schools of Studies and Departments, Centres and Directorates, Library, Polytechnic, ITI, four Boys Hostels, two Girls Hostels, two Guest Houses, Health Centre, five Auditoriums, an Open Air Theatre, Sports Ground, Indoor Stadium, Bank, Post Office, and Residential Staff Quarters.
MANUU offers through its Campus/Regular mode, 25 PhD programmes, 21 PG programmes, 08 UG programmes, 20 Diplomas (PG and Polytechnic) and seven Certificate courses (ITI).
MANUU offers six PG programmes, four UG programmes, two Diplomas and two Certificate courses through its Directorate of Distance Education which has nine Regional Centres one each in Bengaluru, Bhopal, Darbhanga, Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai, Patna, Ranchi, and Srinagar; and five Sub-Regional Centres one each at Amravati, Hyderabad, Jammu, Lucknow, and Nuh.
MANUU has collaborations with United Nation Population Fund; Al-Mustafa International University, Iran; Navoi State Pedagogical Institute and Tashkent State Institute of Oriental Studies, Uzbekistan; and Tokyo University of Foreign Studies.
MANUU is a member of Association of Indian Universities, Association of Commonwealth Universities, Asian Association of Open Universities, Association for the Study of Persionate Societies, and Indian Academy of Social Sciences.
MANUU has been accredited twice with ‘A’ grade by NAAC: in 2009 with a CGPA of 3.23, and in 2016 with a CGPA of 3.09.
The Vision of the University
Maulana Azad National Urdu University (MANUU)’s distinctiveness is its medium of instruction, which is Urdu. Hence, its pursuit for educational excellence and mechanism for delivery of education are linguistically-bound, in a sense that whatever teaching-learning and research are undertaken and accomplishment made thereof must necessarily promote Urdu, raise Urdu as a language of knowledge, science and technology and empower Urdu speakers. Therefore, the Vision of MANUU is: To provide quality higher education and research through Urdu and be recognized as the leading institution for academic excellence.
The Mission of the University
Maulana Azad National Urdu University (MANUU) Act states the Objects of MANUU as:
to promote and develop the Urdu Language
to impart education and training in vocational and technical subjects through the medium of Urdu
to provide wider access to people desirous of pursuing programmes of higher education and training in Urdu medium through teaching on the campus as well as at a distance, and
to provide focus on women education
These Objects of MANUU are essentially its mission statement. Nevertheless, in addition to them MANUU is striving to:
provide highest quality of teaching, learning and research environment to the students,
develop students personality and enhance students’ learning traits,
produce linguistically and socially responsible graduates who could make substantive contribution in the society and nation, and
empower Urdu knowing people by providing higher education access to them.
The Objects of MANUU are empowered through the ‘Powers of the University’ which again are enshrined in its Act and Statutes; the first and foremost power is ‘to provide for instructions and research in such branches of learning as are relevant for furtherance of the objects of the University’.
Therefore, all efforts of MANUU in teaching and research are towards the realization of its mission in terms of promotion of Urdu in higher education, treasuring knowledge in Urdu, dissemination of knowledge through Urdu in higher and technical education, educational empowerment of Urdu knowing, and providing opportunities to women in higher education.
MANUU’s march of certainty in the accomplishment of its academic undertaking can be witnessed from its programmes of study, which are in keeping with not only the traditional branches of learning but also are relevant with the present disciplines of knowledge. All the courses in regular and distance education programmes from UG to doctorate are offered in Urdu except language programmes.