National News
2005-03-17
By Zahra Bhojani - Nasser
http://www.theexpress.com/express%20380/news/news2.htm#1

AGA KHAN ACADEMY TAKES OFF

Making the leaders of tomorrow

With its grand vision to produce students committed to social and national development, the Aga Khan Academy is set to become a reality in Tanzania as President Benjamin Mkapa lays the foundation stone on the site of the Academy today. Accompanying the president will be His Highness the Aga Khan, dignitaries from both the Mainland and Zanzibar, diplomats as well as the staff and students of the Aga Khan Education Service in Tanzania.

The Academy in Dar es Salaam, which will be built on a 44-acre site along Sam Nujoma Road opposite the University of Dar es Salaam, will be part of an international network of 20 schools, each dedicated to expanding access to education of an international standard of excellence.

The Aga Khan Academies, which educate boys and girls from pre-primary to higher secondary level, are planned for key locations in Africa, South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. The first such school, the Aga Khan Academy in Mombasa, Kenya began operating in August 2003.

At the inauguration of the Academy, the Aga Khan described the school as “the pioneer institution in what I hope will become, in the next few years, a network of schools of the highest international standards, from primary through higher secondary education in Sub-Saharan Africa, the Middle East, Central Asia and South Asia.”

Future students to the Academy in Dar es Salaam will be accepted to the school based on their merit, their intellectual promise, their character and desire to learn. Financial assistance will be available for those who cannot access high quality education due to economic reasons or because of geographic distance.

The Aga Khan Academies are implementing the International Baccalaureate programme (IB). Recognised by international universities of high repute, the IB provides the Academies with the flexibility to develop culturally relevant curricula, as well as enhancing students’, academic excellence, their sense of civic responsibility, their under-standing of global issues and their analytical and study skills.

Today, the Aga Khan Education Services (AKES) is one of four agencies of the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN) supporting activities in the field of education. The other three are the Aga Khan Foundation (AKF), the Aga Khan University (AKU), and the Aga Khan Trust for Culture (AKTC).