“Through our chain of observation, the Aga Khan Academy Mombasa surely plays an active role in the holistic development of every child. This is our consistent finding all through the two years of IB Diploma programme our daughter studied. This two-year journey at Aga Khan Academy Mombasa was fully laden with profound experiences that we cherish, as we have eventually seen our daughter progress in all domains of development.”

Faliha Altaf Mukhi graduated from the Aga Khan Academy Mombasa in 2017 with an International Baccalaureate Diploma and is now pursuing her Bachelor’s degree in Global Business and Digital Art at the University of Waterloo, Canada. Faliha's proud parents, Aneela and Altaf Mukhi, are very happy with their child’s experience at the Academy. “The overall progress that we have seen in her is outstanding, both academically and non-academically!” they exclaim.

Faliha’s parents reside in Kampala, Uganda. Enrolling their daughter at the Aga Khan Academy, they say, was one of their best decisions. They feel that the educational experience provided by the Academy is exceptional, in the Eastern African region and beyond.

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According to her parents, Faliha was able to take advantage of a number of development opportunities during her two years at the Academy. For example, she was the president of the Green Gang, an environmental protection endeavour, and was also involved in reporting for the school's website. In addition, Faliha participated in several information technology projects such as database creation and graphic design – she designed certificates, logos and marketing materials. “This experience at the Academy contributed tremendously towards her dream career in digital art. Through the Academy, she also had an opportunity to intern at the Aga Khan Foundation Uganda which further increased her IT skills and leadership capacity,” her parents mention proudly.

“The Aga Khan Academy Mombasa is modern and well informed in implementing an effective educational approach,” say Aneela and Altaf. They particularly appreciated the communication facilitated by the Academy through which parents are kept up to date on the curriculum, activities, assignments, results as well as overall performance. “This regular monitoring through effective means of communication helps the parents to take immediate action and ask for assistance from the very cooperative and talented teachers,” they comment.

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For Faliha’s parents, the Aga Khan Academy helped tap into the hidden talents and potential of their child. “The day we were informed by our daughter’s mentor that she had successfully led her team towards their destination on their mountaineering adventure on Mount Kassigau, we felt very proud indeed! It made us reflect on her perseverance, leadership and analytical ability for problem solving. These innate abilities, somehow, remained subdued before this experience at the Academy,” they note. 

“I can happily say that the Aga Khan Academy Mombasa expresses all the traits of a learning community with all stakeholders having shared values and vision. Students at the Academy are active participants in learning... Such an environment truly nurtures them fully,” says Aneela. Moreover, Faliha’s parents find the systems at the Aga Khan Academy Mombasa to be well organised, and they commend: “Residential and academic, both sectors are remarkably performing to the best of their ability. Well done all!”

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Vijayaraghavan Srinivasan is a prolific painter and video artist whose work explores the intersection between self and society. He facilitates IB Visual Arts at the Academy, in his words, “aimed at developing a strong formalistic and aesthetic understanding as a basis for unique personal expressions in my students. I believe the post-modernist approach to teaching Visual Arts enables students to rediscover the intelligence towards relationships by creating links with multiple disciplines and capitalise on imaginative novelty.”  

Over the last decade, he has participated widely in various biennales, video festivals, and art residency programs across India and the world. This allows him to gain insights into contemporary art styles and enhance his pedagogical strategies in teaching art appreciation to promote creativity, critical thinking and encourage artistic independence along with a spirit of inquiry.

“For seven years,” Vijay tells us, “I have had the wonderful opportunity to instruct a diverse group of primary, middle and senior school students. I encourage and expect my students to be confrontational towards themselves as well as towards what they are seeing, to always question – never settle, and to be aware of the wonder that can be revealed by the creation of a work through honesty, passion and empathy.” 

In 2016, Vijay’s piece The Trinity Saga was published by Aesthetica Magazine in the UK. The Aesthetica Artists Directory is a global network of artists engaging with the professional art world through forums for discussions and interactivity both in the print and digital spheres, where the best in emerging art from around the world has a chance to be discovered.

Proving that he embodies the philosophy of lifelong learning, in the summer of 2016 Vijay attended an advanced-level visual arts course at the Berlin Art Institute Studio Program, which is closely tied to the IB Diploma Programme art curriculum. The course work offered advanced-level studio art practice and experimentation with mixed media. “The avant-garde art practices and experiments with unconventional processes further enhanced my understanding of contemporary art practice,” says Vijay, “and focused on producing artwork in a transdisciplinary way, with compassion and responsibility as key themes.”

After the course, Vijay had the opportunity to work on a collaborative project with Kelly Reedy, an American experimental artist who specialises in art therapy. Labelled Under the Ageis, the mixed media video installation explored the archaic myth of Medusa in relationship to the primal aspects and duality of the ‘great mother’ and ‘terrible mother’ archetypes. Reedy’s research into psychological theories concerning the quality of the attachment of the primary care giver or “mother” in relation to the development of her child’s security and sense of self, accentuate her exploration of the transformative powers of the creative process in art to heal and make whole again.

“I encourage my students to develop  a strong formalistic and aesthetic understanding of art as a basis for expressing their own personal vision,” says Vijay. “I encourage each of them to grow on their own, to be free to make mistakes, to push themselves in ways that their work takes them. I feel that self-directed education is inevitably the best way to guide young people in their education as students of art.”

“The Academy through the International Baccalaureate curriculum has earned a positive reputation for its pluralistic approach, providing a holistic learning environment, developing leaders and achieving educational excellence.”

Nuala Alibhai is the Learning Student Support Coordinator for junior and senior schools at the Aga Khan Academy Mombasa. In this role, she works in collaboration with the Academy’s Principals to develop on-going systems of support for the student community. This includes providing leadership, management and advice on inclusion within the school to develop a differentiated programme that both challenges and meets the needs of students. She also ensures that the Student Support Unit effectively identifies students with any needs for additional support need, including gifted and talented, as well as vulnerable students.

She was born in Kenya where she acquired her basic education. She obtained her undergraduate degree from University College London as Speech and Language Therapist. Later she pursued her Masters in Inclusive Education, at the University of the West of Scotland where she completed her research in inclusive education at the early years level.

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At the Aga Khan Academy Mombasa, Nuala works on a Value-based Education Programme, as a Curriculum Designer, through the Professional Development Centre at the Academy. She came to the Academy with a diverse background in inclusive education at a school, community and public policy level. “I was keen to apply this knowledge and skills within a mainstream school setting, to enable every student to achieve and succeed in school, career and life,” she remarks.

It has been Nuala’s endeavour to improve social outcomes through strategic planning and capacity building at the local government and community level. She is also passionate about designing and developing alternative educational programmes for vulnerable children, in order to ensure that they realise their full potential, so they can succeed in life as dignified equals. She has achieved both of these objectives by working for the past 15 years as a speech and language therapist and as an educational consultant in both the private and public sectors in Kenya and the UK.

Since September of 2016, Nuala has been with the Academy and appreciates how the Academy has provided her with opportunities to develop her teacher training skills and curriculum development skills. Nuala says, “I enjoy working with teachers who bring their hands on experience in the classroom and subject relevant knowledge to the table so we can enrich the educational and social programmes at the Academy.” 

When asked what led her to choose a career in teaching, Nuala replies, “Karma! I started my career as a health professional but on my return to Kenya, I was sought after to do training, policy work and change management in the education sector. As my experience and confidence in the area grew, I began specialising in education. I have always seen myself working with children, so education was also an attractive choice.”

According to Nuala, the International Baccalaureate (IB) curriculum and the Aga Khan Academy strands set the Academy apart from other educational institutions. “It is one of the few schools in Kenya that offers the IB curriculum, which I consider to be the gold standard in education because of its holistic approach, academic rigor and emphasis on community service. The strands are added dimensions that help students make better sense of themselves, others, the world around them and the interconnectedness of all these elements.” 

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In terms of ensuring a climate of pluralism on campus where students from different racial, ethnic and faith backgrounds work together, Nuala feels the pluralism strand is already integrated into the lessons in the classroom, extracurricular activities after school and during out of school activities. “Collaboration skills are one of the approaches to teaching and learning, so students are exposed to activities that encourage and enable them to work with others who are different from them and have different opinions than them. They are encouraged to listen to others respectfully and consider their perspectives. This builds communication skills and empathy in students. These skills are then transferred to the student’s day-to-day interactions and not only in the classroom,” she reiterates.

When asked about the most rewarding aspect of teaching at Aga Khan Academy Mombasa, she replied, “The collaborative spirit and practice amongst the staff.” She further adds that there is appreciation and inclusion of every individual’s knowledge, skill and experience in decision-making. According to Nuala, strategies and unit plans are collectively produced not only to enhance the quality of the teaching and learning experience for the student, but also to allow the adult to grow, as a professional, in the process. “The teachers on the whole are approachable, warm and a joy to work with,” she comments. Parents are also involved as much as possible in their children’s education, she mentions. Parents get regular updates from the school on their child’s progress and well-being and are given recommendations of how to extend the learning and support beyond the walls of the school, she adds.

Nuala strongly feels that her position at Aga Khan Academy Mombasa has given her the opportunity to individualise the learning for every student. “My prayer is that this opportunity helps them become more self aware, reveal their talents and inspire them to make bigger strides forward with direction and confidence.”