Established in 1993, the Aga Khan Primary School was the first private English-medium primary school in post-free market Tanzania economy. With a current enrolment of over 600 students, the school offers several curricula, including the Primary Years Programme (PYP), the British curriculum and the International Baccalaureate (IB) diploma. At the secondary school level the National curriculum runs as a parallel stream. The IB students of the Aga Khan Mzizima Secondary School maintain above average scores and consistently gain admission to prestigious universities worldwide. The secondary school in Dar es Salaam has over 600 students. Plans are underway for a new school to be co-located on the Aga Khan University Principal Campus in Arusha.

In 2000, His Highness the Aga Khan established the Aga Khan Academies, an integrated network of 18 residential schools being developed across Africa, Asia and the Middle East. The Academies identify students of exceptional promise from all backgrounds and educate them for future leadership of their countries and regions. It is merit based so deserving students may apply for financial assistance. The Aga Khan Academy to be built in Dar es Salaam will share a campus with Aga Khan University’s Institute for Educational Development (AKU-IED).

The Network also collaborates with the Government of Tanzania to improve student learning outcomes at pre-primary and primary levels in the Lindi Region. The programme supports professional development of educators in 150 schools, and strengthens teacher training institutions, school management committees and community libraries. AKF has also collaborated with the Tanzanian Institute of Education and The Education Quality Improvement Programme – Tanzania (DFID funded) to develop the school readiness programme.

Through its Master of Education degree and short and certificate courses, the Institute for Educational Development in Dar es Salaam develops educators who are transforming classroom instruction and school management, replacing traditional methods of rote learning with a student-centered approach that builds problem-solving skills and encourages independent thinking.  Many IED alumni hold important positions in public and private education systems, enabling them to advocate for and implement new policies and reforms that impact large numbers of students.  To date, the Institute has awarded more than 370 master’s degrees and trained more than 5,000 educators through its certificate programmes, short courses and workshops.

Together with other agencies of the Aga Khan Development Network, the Institute recently completed a five-year project to improve education in government schools at the pre-primary and primary levels in marginalised areas of Tanzania, Kenya and Uganda, supported by funding from the Canadian government and the Aga Khan Foundation.  Under the project, known as Strengthening Education Systems in East Africa, the Institute trained more than 3,400 educators and government officials, reaching 307,000 students across East Africa.

The AKU School of Nursing and Midwifery in Dar es Salaam aims to strengthen health systems in Tanzania by upgrading nursing skills, improving the quality of health care and developing new and more professional nursing courses.  The programme is tailored to ensure health services are responsive to population needs and uses an innovative curricular approach that enables nurses to obtain professional qualifications while working. To date, 650 nurses have graduated from AKU in Tanzania.

In addition, the University trains urgently needed specialist physicians in family medicine, surgery and internal medicine through its four-year, full-time Postgraduate Medical Education programme at the Aga Khan Hospital in Dar es Salaam.

The programme is supporting professional development of educators in 150 schools, strengthening teacher training institutions and the district and ward education support system, capacity building of school management committees and engaging communities to support education of their children through innovative approaches, such as setting up community libraries. AKF has also partnered with the Tanzanian Institute of Education and The Education Quality Improvement Programme – Tanzania (DFID funded) to develop the school readiness programme currently being piloted in seven regions. Plans are underway to roll-out the programme in all regions of the country.

The programme reaches over 150 schools, helping establish community-based libraries, improving teacher skills for close to 600 teachers, and directly benefitting 60,000 students. The overall objective of SESEA is to improve the learning and education performance of boys and girls, particularly in reading and writing, and mathematics, at pre-primary and primary levels.