Ra'ana Liaquat Ali Khan, Government College of Home Economics (RLAK CHE), Karachi

Ra'ana Liaquat Ali Khan, Government College of Home Economics (RLAK CHE)

Type	Degree College
Established	1952
Principal	Professor Shabana Perwaiz Sandila (from 2013 to date)
Location	Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan
Campus	25 acres (approx.)
Affiliations	Board of Intermediate Education Karachi and University of Karachi
Website	http://chek.edu.pk/

The RLAK (named after Begum Ra'ana Liaquat Ali Khan) Government College of Home Economics (also known as RLAK CHE) is an all-girls college, established in 1952 in Karachi, province of Sindh, Pakistan. RLAK-CHE is a professional-level college offering numerous highly specialized and technical courses in five different areas of Home Economics – i.e. Apparel & Textiles, Art & Design, Family & Human Development, Nutrition & Dietetics, Residential Management & Entrepreneurship; – including internships and research projects in the senior-most year of studies that are a compulsory requirement for every student graduating from the college.^[1]

RLAK CHE also offers compulsory education in Language, Literature, History, Religion, Statistics and Computing to enhance and add to professional and transferable skills of young girl-students.^[2]

History

A landmark educational institution of Karachi— RLAK Govt. College of Home Economics has a proud history. Soon after Independence, realising the need and importance of investing in the education of young women of the country, the scheme for establishing a college of Home Economics in Karachi was proposed by the Government of Pakistan as part of its first ever six-year Development Plan of Education (1951-1957)^[3]

Vision of Ford Foundation

Establishment of Ra'ana Liaquat Ali Khan, Government College of Home Economics (RLAK CHE), Karachi started in 1952 with support from the Ford Foundation (USA) and APWA. Ford Foundation provided all the funds for building, books and training of staff while Pakistan Government provided the land. APWA was an active member of the governing council and an administrative liaison between Ford Foundation and Pakistan Government. Oklahoma State University-USA assisted in making of curriculum and syllabi, establishment of the college, and training of teachers in Karachi.

Name & Foundation Stone

Administrative Block of Ra'ana Liaquat Ali Khan, Government College of Home Economics, Karachi. (http://chek.edu.pk)

Its name at that time was Domestic Science College. Eleanor Roosevelt installed the foundation stone of the College.

Administrative Controls

The College worked as a semi independent public institution under the management of a governing council. Federal government paid the salaries of staff and provided budget for the running of the college.

The first batch of students was admitted in 1955. Masters education started in RLAK CHE Karachi in 1961. The Board of Intermediate Education, Karachi was responsible for examining intermediate students and University of Karachi for graduate and post graduate students. The staff were sent off for overseas training till 1971.

RLAK CHE was taken over by the government as part of its nationalization policy for educational institutions in 1972. The provincial government supported the college by constructing new blocks of buildings in 1991 and initiating a renovation scheme in 2005.^[4]

Contributions of the Private Sector

Over the years, the College Administration and Faculty have worked tirelessly and selflessly in motivating the interest of private individuals, companies, industries, groups, etc. to make their due contribution to the promotion of girls’ education by providing/improving various facilities for the students of the College.

As a result, RLAK-CHE has been provided with great support in establishment and enrichment of labs, temporary provision of teachers, award of medals, provision of books, building of auditorium, and extension of library by National Foods (Pvt.) Ltd, Efroze Chemicals, Rangoonwala Trust, Thai Embassy, Mr. Akhai – Pharma Link – Karachi, and Qadeer Group of Companies , besides many others.^[5]

Programs Offered

The two scholastic programmes currently being offered by the College are

• H. Sc in Home Economics (Two Years)
• BS in Home Economics (Four Years)

The College is affiliated to the Board of Intermediate Education Karachi and University of Karachi for award of certificate and degree of H. Sc and BS in Home Economics respectively. The four-year BS program is equivalent to Master's degree as per University rules. The BS Programme brings the scholastic programme in conformity with those offered internationally. The curriculum and syllabi developed most painstakingly by the faculty of the college meet the highest of standards and have been appreciated both at national and international levels.^[6]

Courses

A large number of highly specialized courses are included in the curriculum for the two scholastic programmes at present being taught at the College. A total of 83 different courses are taught at the College of which 69 are of a highly specialized and technical nature. Moreover, an important point to note is that most of these special subjects are taught only at RLAK CHE in Karachi.^[7][8][9]

Courses Offered at Intermediate Level (H.Sc.)

Science & Humanities Departments' Block (SHB) at RLAK CHE (http://chek.edu.pk)

Courses Offered at Graduation Level (BS)

Buildings

RLAK CHE is spread over a sprawling 25 acres (approx.) of land interspersed with various buildings and large areas of vacant land. The physical infrastructure and facilities are on the scale of a university campus rather than a college^[10]

Residential Management & Entrepreneurship Department at RLAK CHE (http://chek.edu.pk)

The college has:

• six academic blocks;
• a hostel;
• an administrative block;
• a well-stocked library;
• principal’s bungalow; and
• employee residences.

RLAK, CHE has two well-equipped computer labs with access to internet; a spacious auditorium and multimedia facilities for use in academic and extracurricular activities.

Other physical facilities of the College include student-residence blocks (part of the curriculum requirement for the subject of Residential Management), an audio-visual conference room, seminar halls, badminton hall, cafeteria, bookshop, and a photocopy shop.

Discipline

RLAK, CHE has an exemplary discipline. In terms of regularity of classes and punctuality of student and staff the college has unmatched high standards.

For all the subjects of Home-Economics students get all the required teaching at the college and do not need any private tuition.

There is an excellent system of documentation of student and staff performance that is a great help in monitoring and maintaining discipline and academic standards.

Faculty

^[11]

Current (2015)

Apparel & Textile Department

• Afzal Fatima Associate Professor Head of the Department
• Zeenat Sultan Associate Professor
• Mahlaqa Afreen Assistant Professor
• Roohi Iqbal Lecturer
• Dur-e-Nayab Lecturer
• Uzma Moin Lecturer
• Fizza Massaud Lecturer
• Zohra Mustafa Lecturer
• Siama Khan Lecturer
• Sara Siddiqui Lecturer

Arts & Interior Design Department

• Azra Munawar Farooqui Associate Professor Head of the Department
• Nasreen Begum Assistant Professor
• Kulsoom Bibi Jamali Assistant Professor
• Ghazala Naeem Assistant Professor
• Hina Zubair Assistant Professor
• Mahreen Samar Lecturer
• Atika Yasmeen Lecturer

Family & Human Development (FHD) Department

• Khalida Hafeez Associate Professor Head of the Department
• Nargis Irfan Assistant Professor
• Shaheena Soomro Assistant Professor
• Naveeda Bano Lecturer
• Rubina Rizwan Lecturer
• Rabel Mangi Lecturer

Nutrition & Dietetics Departments

• Shabana Perwaiz Sandila Professor Principal
• Dr. Rubina Hakeem Professor Head of the Department
• Fahima Fatima Associate Professor
• Shaista Jabeen Assistant Professor
• Farzana Asar Assistant Professor
• Sadia Idrees Assistant Professor
• Hina Kazi Lecturer
• Najeeha Khan Lecturer
• Naveen Qamar Lecturer
• Teba A.Lateef Lecturer
• Rabia Saqib Lecturer

Residential Management & Entrepreneurship Department

• Durdana Kazi Associate Professor Head of the Department
• Shahnaz Javed Assistant Professor
• Nighat Jahan Assistant Professor
• Rehana Naseem Assistant Professor
• Khalida Parveen Jaumani Assistant Professor
• Huma Urooj Pathan Lecturer
• Madiha Maryam Lecturer
• Sheher Bano Ali Lecturer
• Madiha Saleem Lecturer

Department of Humanities

• Nusrah Hamza Associate Professor Head of the Department
• Sunita L. Gandhi Assistant Professor
• Fozia Shaikh Assistant Professor
• Lubna Shaheen Lecturer
• Dr. Amna Afreen Lecturer
• Kousar Perveen Shaikh Lecturer
• Sohaila Hasan Lecturer
• Munnaza Nazir Lecturer
• Rasheeda Lecturer
• Kulsum Wali Mohammad Lecturer
• Sehrish Jabbar Memon Lecturer
• Shehnaz Gul Lecturer
• Sabina Lecturer
• Qurat-ul-Ain Lecturer

Department of Information Technology

• Hina Memon Lecturer Head of the Department

Department of Science

• Farhat Rafi Associate Professor Head of the Department
• Mahjabeen Saud Lecturer
• Syeda Qurat-ul-Ain Naqvi Lecturer
• Huma Ahmed Lecturer

Library

• Shaheen Khan Senior Librarian
• Shahida Parveen Librarian

Sports

• Anjum Zehra D.P.E.

Transferred

• Dr. Mehrunnisa Qazi Assistant Professor
• Dr. Farah Sultana Assistant Professor
• Ajodhia Lecturer

Retired

• Zahida Arshad Senior D.P.E.

See also

• Begum Rana Liaquat Ali Khan
• List of colleges in Pakistan
• Government College of Home Economics, Lahore.

References

External links

• Official Website
• Directorate College Education, Karachi
• Colleges under Directorate College Education, Karachi
• Official Facebook Page