The Aga Khan Development Network has been active in the field of education in Asia for over a century. The first Aga Khan Schools were established in Mundra, Gujarat and Gwadar, Balochistan in 1905. Since then, thousands of students have been educated at Aga Khan Schools across South and Central Asia.
To ensure young learners a good start, the Aga Khan Foundation has helped create environments that support the overall development of pre-school age children. As a result, its model for Early Childhood Development has been recognised and adopted nationally in Afghanistan, Tajikistan and the Kyrgyz Republic.
The Foundation also works in partnership with government school faculties, parents and communities to raise the quality of classroom learning. Each year, hundreds of thousands of school-age children continue into higher grades, with lower dropout rates and greater learning gains. Thousands of teachers complete in-service trainings that improve their skills and raise their confidence.
Since 2011, at the Aga Khan Academy in Hyderabad, India, talented students actively recruited from underrepresented, marginalised communities have been studying the rigorous International Baccalaureate (IB) curriculum to become future leaders.
Chartered as Pakistan’s first private international university in 1983, the Aga Khan University (AKU) in Karachi is today recognised as the region’s leading medical research university. AKU’s School of Nursing and Midwifery has been a national leader for more than 30 years and has played a key role in improving the reputation and practice of the nursing profession. Graduates of the AKU Institute for Educational Development – over half of whom are women – hold important positions in public and private education systems, enabling them to advocate for and implement new policies and reforms that affect large numbers of students.
Located on three residential campuses in Khorog (Tajikistan), Naryn (Kyrgyz Republic) and Tekeli (Kazakhstan), the University of Central Asia offers undergraduate and graduate degree programmes, as well as vocational and professional development courses for youth and adults.
