Hyderabad varsity to offer course in Islamic finance

Hyderabad, March 20, 2015: The Maulana Azad National Urdu University (MANUU) here plans to offer a diploma course in Islamic finance from the next academic year to keep pace with the rising demand for the subject. The one-year post-graduation diploma will be conducted by the departments of Islamic studies and management at the Hyderabad-based central university. "It will be open to all graduates and will have six papers dealing with different aspects of Islamic finance," Mohammed Abdul Azeem, dean, School of Commerce and Business Management, MANUU, told IANS. The decision comes close on the heels of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) the university signed with the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) Institute Ltd. BSE Institute, which offers various courses including one in Islamic finance, wants to set up an institute here in collaboration with MANUU. It plans to offer different courses. Abdul Azeem, however, feels that setting up the institute was not feasible for now. "We don't have infrastructure for this. It will take some time." In the meantime, the university will sponsor students for the courses at the BSE Institute in Mumbai. "We have sent the proposal. We will sponsor students for the courses which are useful to them." The university, which offers M. Com and MBA, last year introduced a compulsory paper in Islamic finance and banking for the third semester. It helps the students gain basic knowledge of Islamic finance and banking. BSE Institute, which has tie-ups with many international universities and institutes, also plans to design courses for MANUU.