The Aga Khan School, Dhaka

Dhaka, Bangladesh, 21 August 2021 - In line with the renewed Protocol of Cooperation signed between the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN) and the Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh in 2013, AKDN is in the process of establishing a new centre of educational excellence in Dhaka – The Aga Khan Academy.

His Highness the Aga Khan has recently established a single agency, the Aga Khan Schools (AKS), which embraces both the Aga Khan Academies and the Aga Khan Education Services schools globally. The agency is consolidating its future education activities in Bangladesh around the Aga Khan Academy Dhaka.

Building on the vision of His Highness the Aga Khan, the goal of the not-for-profit Aga Khan Academy Dhaka is to develop future leaders for Bangladesh who are equipped with problem solving and critical thinking skills to enable them to compete in a highly interconnected, competitive, and globalised world.

These new demands will be best met through the globally accepted International Baccalaureate (IB) curriculum, which will be adapted to the Bangladesh context and which emphasises enquiry, the development of research skills and critical thinking capacities. The IB curriculum will be customised with the study of ethics; pluralism; economics for development; cultures, including Muslim civilisations; and governance and civil society.

Designed to international standards, the Aga Khan Academy Dhaka will also offer an award- winning campus built to accommodate 1,200 students, with residential facilities on an 18- acre site. Students and teachers will have access to purpose-built facilities and abundant green spaces for learning, recreation, sports and the arts. The Academy in Dhaka will be the fourth in the global network of 18 Aga Khan Academies, joining those in Mombasa (Kenya), Hyderabad (India) and Maputo (Mozambique).

The Academy plans to welcome the first cohort of students in July 2022, thereby continuing the AKDN’s tradition of providing outstanding educational services in Bangladesh for more than three decades.

All students currently enrolled at the Aga Khan School, Dhaka have been invited on a priority basis to continue their educational experience at the Academy in Bashundhara. To that end, a comprehensive consultation process is underway with all families of the Aga Khan School, Dhaka to better understand their requirements. The details of the transition plan will be made available once this consultation process has been completed.

The AKS and AKDN leadership will continue to make every effort to ensure a seamless transition of students from the Aga Khan School, Dhaka to the Aga Khan Academy. Our intention is to provide the best standard of education that we can for our students and to ensure a transition process that is aligned to our vision of excellence and is in the best interest of our students’ educational aspirations and experience going forward.

Photo: A view of the Academy Building from the courtyard (credit: AKDN/Aga Khan Academies)

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About Aga Khan Schools (AKS):

Aga Khan Schools now comprises the schools and programmes operated by both Aga Khan Academies and the Aga Khan Education Services.

The Aga Khan Academies (AKA) form an international network of non-denominational, co- educational, residential schools being established in countries across Africa, Asia, the Middle East and Europe. Each Academy is designed to provide an excellent education to exceptional students who possess strong leadership potential to support positive development in their societies. The Aga Khan Academies select talented girls and boys based on merit and regardless of socio-economic background, race, religion or culture.

Financial assistance is available to ensure that lack of means does not limit access. The Academies follow the International Baccalaureate (IB) curriculum, ensuring a global standard of educational excellence and external validation. Since inception, the Academies globally have graduated over 1,200 future leaders who consistently gain places and scholarships at the world’s top universities. For more information on the Aga Khan Academies, visit www.agakhanacademies.org.

The Aga Khan Education Services (AKES) is one of the largest private, not-for-profit pre- tertiary education networks in the developing world. The schools and education programmes are present in 13 countries across East Africa, South and Central Asia, and the Middle East. AKES operates 199 schools and standalone pre-primary centres and 100+ centres offering non-formal programmes that reach 89,500+ students, with the support of 5,500+ teachers and staff. Established over 100 years ago, AKES schools and programmes serve diverse populations. In Bangladesh, AKES operates the Aga Khan School, Dhaka, which is authorised to offer the International Baccalaureate Primary Years Program and Diploma Programme, along with the Cambridge IGCSE and A-Levels. For more information, visit www.agakhanschools.org.

About the Aga Khan Development Network:

The Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN) is a group of private development agencies working to empower communities and individuals, often in disadvantaged circumstances, to improve living conditions and opportunities, especially in Central and South Asia, the Middle East and sub-Saharan Africa. AKDN agencies work for the common good of all citizens, regardless of their gender, origin or religion. Its underlying impulse is the ethic of compassion for the vulnerable in society. Its annual budget for social and cultural development activities is US$ 1 billion (2019). The Aga Khan Fund for Economic Development (AKFED), an AKDN development agency that makes long-term investments in fragile economies on a commercial basis, operates as a network of affiliates with more than 90 separate project companies employing over 65,000 people. For more information, visit www.akdn.org.

For more information, please contact: 

Malik Mahemood

Aga Khan Education Service, Bangladesh 

Email: akesb@akdn.org - Tel: +880 1795102664

For access to photos and videos of the Aga Khan Academy Dhaka, visit: https://www.agakhanacademies.org/dhaka/gallery/aga-khan-academy-dhaka-construction-diary-0