JOIN USThe spiritual leader of the Ismaili sect Prince Karim Al Hussaini Aga Khan, founder and Chairman of the Aga Khan Development Network, visited the Aga Khan Academy here on Friday to review progress of the school.
The Aga Khan was accompanied by his son Prince AlyMuhammed, his daughter Princess Zahra and her children Sara and Iliyan. The visit to the academy allowed the Aga Khan to assess first-hand the progress made since his last visit in September 2013 when the school was formally inaugurated.
While at the academy, the Aga Khan toured the campus including the Athletics Centre, the Junior and Senior Schools, as well as the student residences. Together with members of his family, he met and interacted with teachers, staff and students.
Kais Khetani, a grade 10 student, showcased the prototype for a solar-powered car. He was among several students who demonstrated their work to the Aga Khan and his family. Khetani’s fascination with solar technology began when he was in grade 5. The organisers turned him away believing he was too young. “They felt I wouldn’t be able to understand solar power,” he said.
Grade 11 student Khushboo Khoja’s project focused on social change. After she started volunteering in a Telugu-medium girl’s school in grade 9, she realised students did not get adequate exposure to English outside of a handful of lessons each week. She set out to build an English library and reading club in the school to help them improve their English and share her love of reading. Dedicated to pursuing social change, Kais and Khushboo, are among students who embody the Academy’s goal of bettering the society around it, a statement issued by the academy here said.
The Aga Khan is on a week-long official visit to India.
On April 8, he received the Padma Vibushan, one of the country’s highest civilian decorations, for his contributions to social development in India. A day earlier, the Aga Khan and Minister for Culture, Mahesh Sharma, presided over the foundation stone-laying ceremony for the new Site Museum at the Humayun’s Tomb complex in Delhi.
The Aga Khan Academy, Hyderabad, is a not-for-profit school situated on a 100-acre campus near the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport. It is the second in a global network of day and residential schools being established across South and Central Asia, Africa and the Middle East.
The school provides talented girls and boys from all backgrounds with an all-round education of the highest international standards. Students are admitted based on merit, and a substantial number of full and partial bursaries are offered, ensuring that socio-economic status does not limit access.