The Aga Khan Education Service, Uganda
The Aga Khan schools in Uganda were established, in the early-1930s, in over 20 villages and towns, including Masaka, Mbale, Jinja and Mbarara. Over the years the schools have come to be recognised as quality institutions of learning, providing education from the nursery to secondary level. Every year, the schools perform well in national primary and secondary school examinations.

Between 1973 and 1992, the Aga Khan schools were managed by the Government's Ministry of Education or its designates; since then, the schools have begun reverting to AKES. In the past five years, four Aga Khan schools have been rehabilitated, including two nursery, one primary and one secondary school. A total student population of 1,500 students attend these schools, with about 120 full-time teaching staff, supported by part-time and volunteer educators.

Considering the system as a whole, some leading characteristics of the work of the Aga Khan Education Services are:

• the continuing pursuit of excellence in educational practice and management in diverse and challenging settings
• child-centred teaching methods
• an equal opportunities approach to students of all races, cultures and both genders
• faculty professional development.

Currently, major initiatives throughout the system include:

• the introduction of computers and distance learning to supplement teaching and improve learning methods
• the improvement of physical infrastructure
• professional development of faculty through the Aga Khan University-Institute for Educational Development
• an East African education initiative to facilitate coordination of programmes, identification of best practices and quality educational initiatives, improvement in teacher training and retention and acceleration of computer-assisted educational methods
• collaboration with a leading private school in the USA - Phillips Academy, Andover - to improve AKES, U’s teaching methodologies and programmes in various disciplines including science, mathematics, economics, English language and technology.

For more information, visit the Aga Khan Development Network website.