Aga Khan School, Osh’s Learning Resource Centre
For more than 20 years, the Aga Khan School, Osh has fostered a passion for reading through its on-campus Learning Resource Centre (LRC), which serves as a repository of learning materials and a place for knowledge exchange among the school’s community.
The LRC provides a safe and calming environment for students and staff at the school. It houses over 17,000 learning resources, including textbooks and books in various genres such as fiction, fantasy, science, business, and more. These resources, both digital and print, are continuously updated and logged in a robust database by the LRC’s staff to include the latest literature for students and staff to enjoy and ensure the resources adhere to the students’ curriculum units.
The exceptional design of the LRC has been seamlessly incorporated into the school’s overall architecture, highlighting the culture and context of the Kyrgyz Republic since the construction of this purpose-built facility in 2000. For example, the LRC is constructed in the shape of a Kyrgyz yurt and adorned with national motifs, embodying the fundamental aspects of Kyrgyz traditions: family, Earth and the universe.
In 2024, the LRC was renovated, along with the entire school, which included repainting the walls and ceiling to lighter colours and adding carpeting to the floors to reduce noise throughout the space. A “tunduk” was also installed in the centre of the Kyrgyz yurt-shaped roof, which is typically seen in yurts to allow natural light to enter from the roof.
With the latest upgrades, the LRC has become a place of interaction, discussions, events, reading, learning and growth for over 500 students annually. It has also encouraged more students and staff, including Grade 10 student Jenaliev Beksultan, to visit the LRC more frequently and use it as a space to do schoolwork and reflect.
"The LRC is versatile, conducive and quiet,” Jenaliev said. “It is useful for completing homework or just enjoying a favourite book.”
The school also organises various external events and activities in the LRC, actively involving librarians, teachers and students from neighbouring government schools. During these events, topics such as school library management, Eco-art master classes, which encourage students to create art reflecting humanity’s impact on the environment around us, and others are focused on. These events promote collaboration and the sharing of best practices and insights among schools, students and teachers.
Despite the rapid advancement of information and technology, the Learning Resource Centre at the Aga Khan School, Osh continues to be an important space at the school for various events, activities and to foster a love for reading among its school community and beyond.
Photos (top to bottom):
- The architecture of AKS, Osh's LRC reflects the culture of the Kyrgyz Republic.
- Teachers organise and conduct various extracurricular activities, encouraging the love of reading and research among the students.
- Holiday programmes for Grade 5 students and their families are also held at the LRC.
- Teachers utilise the LRC to discuss materials and collaborate with each other.
