History

In 2000, His Late Highness Prince Karim Aga Khan IV initiated the establishment of the Aga Khan Academies, an integrated network of schools dedicated to expanding access to the highest standard of education.

The Aga Khan Academies is a part of the Aga Khan Schools, an agency of the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN). The Aga Khan Schools is chaired by His Highness Prince Rahim Aga Khan V, who succeeded his father, His Late Highness Prince Karim Aga Khan IV, on 4 February 2025. The AKDN has a long history of involvement in education in countries of the developing world, with the first schools having been founded in 1905 in Mundra (India), Zanzibar (Tanzania) and Gwadar (Pakistan). Currently, the Aga Khan Schools operate 200 schools, eight hostels and more than 100 non-formal educational programme centres ranging from early childhood through to post-graduate education.

Establishment of the academies

In 2003, the first Aga Khan Academy opened in Kenya on an 18-acre site in the Kizingo area of Mombasa. The Aga Khan Academy Mombasa has already established a highly successful track record, with its students placing among the top tier worldwide in academic performance.

The Aga Khan Academy Hyderabad in India is the second to be established and opened with its first intake of students in August 2011. As with all the Aga Khan Academies, the Academy in Hyderabad selects students of all socio-economic backgrounds who show promise in academic and other areas, and who demonstrate good character and serious intent.

The Aga Khan Academy Maputo in Mozambique opened in August 2013. In August 2022, the Aga Khan Academy Dhaka in Bangladesh opened.