His Highness the Aga Khan, founder and Chairman of the Aga Khan Development Network and Kathleen Wynne, Premier of the Province of Ontario, Canada signed an agreement of coopération, that amongst other aspects, establishes a formal partnership between the Aga Khan Academies and the Province of Ontario to work together on mutually beneficial education initiatives.
The Aga Khan Academy, Hyderabad, which had its formal inaugural in September 2013, is the second in a network of 18 Academies, to be established in 14 countries, across the developing world. The establishment of this partnership signals a recognition by the Government of Ontario of the quality and potential of the Aga Khan Academies programme.
At the signing ceremony, His Highness spoke of the partnership as an investment that will help lift education and teaching as a profession, which is an area of great need in the developing world. “In investing in [this] partnership, we are investing in a profession which is critical for the development of a quality civil society …I would ask you to think of this not only in terms of what we will be able to achieve…but in a much wider context of the teaching profession and it’s position in the developing world.”
Two joint projects have been planned that will benefit both teachers and students of the Academies. Firstly, Academies students will directly benefit from the partnership through a programme of tuitions scholarships from Ontario that will allow students of limited means to continue to higher education at some of the best universities in the world. Talented Academies students such as Maxwin Omondi and Mary Favour will be able to complete their education and improve their quality of life, and through them, the lives of their families and communities. Maxwin and Mary are two of the many students that will be joining a number of other Academies graduates at Ontario universities this fall. They both come from marginalized communities in Kenya where poverty is high and many students can’t access even secondary-level education. They were supported to attend the Academy and have now obtained full scholarships to attend the University of Toronto. Maxwin, who is working toward a career in engineering, says, “My vision of pursuing engineering…will enable me to work with communities around Kenya and Africa in general and improve social and economic development.” Mary hopes that her experience will prove to be a model for girls in her community. She explains, “The very act of me getting accepted to a university abroad means that the girls in my community can look at themselves and say, ‘If Mary could do it then I can too.’ That’s why this really changes my life and my community’s life as a whole.”
Secondly, a secondment programme will allow experienced Ontario teachers to spend time at an Aga Khan Academy to help build outstanding teaching and learning practice while also gaining first-hand experience in a different cultural and geographic context. The benefit of this kind of exchange is exemplified by Canadian teacher Lisa Gervais, one of the Canadian Development Exchange professionals who is working at the Aga Khan Academies in India and Kenya. Lisa works with children in grades 2-6 in her English as an Additional Language (EAL) classroom and also visits government school teachers in Hyderabad as part of the Professional Learning for Educators Series. “I am thrilled to be part of a team that is already shaping the future of India by producing its future leaders,” she says. “I am also passionate about the Outreach programme that is supporting teachers in government schools to not only improve their English language skills but their pedagogy as well. These teachers, and the students in their classrooms, inspire me every day. The Outreach teachers are gaining some valuable new English language tools and skills. And, beyond that, we are sharing each other’s cultures which has led to some fantastic experiences for all of us. I am learning as much as I am teaching, and you can’t ask for more than that!”
In her remarks, Premier Wynne noted, “His Highness the Aga Khan has devoted his life to the values we cherish in Ontario — diversity, pluralism, peace, tolerance and sustainable human and economic development.”
The Aga Khan Academies look forward to partnering with the Province of Ontario over the coming years to share knowledge and expertise, and to provide learning and development opportunities for both teachers and students.