Faculty

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Faculty

Dr. Fauzia Shamim

– Ph.D, TESOL, School of Education, Leeds University, UK
– Masters in Linguistics for ELT, University of Lancaster, UK
– Masters in English Literature, University of Karachi

Dr Fauzia Shamim is a former Professor and founder Dean of the Faculty of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences, Ziauddin University, Karachi, Pakistan. Earlier, she has worked as a teacher/researcher, and in leadership positions at various universities in the public and private sector in Pakistan and abroad. These include: The Aga Khan University’s Institute of Educational Development, University of Karachi, Institute of Business Management, and Taibah University, KSA. She is a founder member and Vice President of the Society of Pakistan English Language Teachers (SPELT) and was Chair of TESOL International’s Research Professional Council, USA (2018-19).

Dr Shamim obtained her Ph.D in TESOL from the School of Education, Leeds University, UK, and Masters in Linguistics for ELT and English Literature from the University of Lancaster, UK, and Karachi University, Pakistan, respectively. She is a regular presenter at national and international conferences. Her publications include journal articles, book chapters and co- edited/authored books. Her research interests include context-appropriate pedagogy, teaching English in difficult circumstances, program and curriculum development and evaluation, and Language-in-Education policy including English as medium of instruction.






Salma A. Alam

– Postgraduate Diploma in Education (Primary Teaching), National Institute of Education, Singapore
– M.Ed., International Education Policy, Harvard Graduate School of Education, USA
– B.Sc. (High Honors), Engineering Physics, University of Illinois at Urbana – Champaign, USA.

Salma started her education career at the S.M.B. Fatima Jinnah government school in Karachi, where she volunteered with Zindagi Trust for 4 years. During this time, she supervised the primary mathematics program at the school and also led the writing, illustration and design of a Grade 1 Math textbook in collaboration with Oxford University Press and AKU-IED.

After graduating from Harvard University, Salma spent two years consulting with the World Bank where she developed and supervised a project for a Human Resource Management Information System for Sindh School Education Department employees and also provided technical advisory and operational support for the government’s communication unit.

In 2017, after returning from Singapore with a primary teaching qualification, Salma was appointed as the CEO of Durbeen. She spent the next 3 years laying the groundwork for a public-private partnership in the Government Elementary College of Education, Hussainabad.

She currently retains this position and also teaches mathematics courses at the College.  

Mirbaz Ali Khan

– M.Ed., Teacher Education, Aga Khan University, Institute for Educational Development (AKU-IED)
– M. A. Urdu Literature, University of Karachi
– B.Ed. National University of Modern Languages (NUML), Karachi
– B.A Humanities, University of Karachi
– Certificate in English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL), Olympia College, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Mirbaz Ali Khan has more than five years of experience in teaching English and Urdu courses. He has worked with Dr. Mirat al Fatima at AKU-IED as a teaching practicum mentor in one of her M.Ed. courses, “Learning Styles in English Language Teaching (LS in ELT)”. He has also been working with Aga Khan University Examination Board during their exam sessions. In AKU-IED, He also successfully completed Assessment, Measurement, and Evaluation (AME) as a second specialization along with his M.Ed. course, where he studied Classroom Assessment, Test, Validity and Construction, and Program Evaluation in the Context.

After graduating from AKU-IED, His philosophy of teaching changed from Teacher-centered to Student-centered. He strongly believes in student-centered classroom where cooperative teaching and learning takes place and students can learn in a stress free and friendly environment.

He believes that learning starts from information then, it moves towards knowledge, finally it becomes wisdom. It is the teacher’s duty to help learners to get there. He wants his students to be skill full, lifelong learners, critical thinkers, positive change agents and good citizens as well as, good human beings.


Muhammad Umair Khan

– Ed.M., International Education Policy, Harvard Graduate School of Education, USA
– B.S., Mechanical Engineering, National University of Sciences & Technology, Pakistan

Umair Khan graduated from NUST as a mechanical engineer in 2016, before turning to his real passion in life i.e., education. He started by founding a standardized test preparation firm at the end of the same year, through which he went on to help hundreds of prospective graduate students pursue their dreams of enrolling in top graduate programs worldwide. To further his study in the field of education, he went to the US as a Fulbright scholar in 2018 and graduated in May 2019 with a master’s degree in International Education Policy. Ever since, he has engaged in a variety of educational initiatives, from conducting training programs for teachers in underserved schools and designing play-based learning workshops for school-going children to teaching GRE preparation classes to prospective graduate students and mentoring graduate applicants.

Umair teaches mathematics courses at the Government Elementary College of Education, Hussainabad.

Zenab Moiz

– M.Ed., Australian Catholic University
– M.A., General History, Federal Urdu University
– B. Ed., University of Karachi

Zenab has more than ten years of experience, working as a school leader, professional development facilitator and students counselor. She brings with her vast experience of developing and implementing integrated curriculum. She has taken strong initiatives in introducing independent, research-based project learning in a number of organizations that she has worked with.

She has worked as a practicum mentor at Notre Dame Institute of Education and has been involved in training teachers to bring a change in their classrooms. She has conducted number of educational researches as well as professional training for teachers at multiple forums. Zenab is ambitious about training prospective Pakistani teachers and believes that training should aim to transform student-teachers beliefs, and enable them to use their resources effectively.

Zenab teaches Social Studies courses at the Government Elementary College of Education, Hussainabad.

Anum Kheraj

- M.Phil., Education, Aga Khan University, Institute for Educational Development
- B.Ed., Notre Dame Institute of Education
- B.Sc., Physiology and Statistics, University of Karachi

Anum’s passion to teach is rooted in her voluntary work for community engagement, where she served in diverse teaching and educational leadership roles. Her teaching experience includes her service to different institutions over the past 5 years in a professional capacity, and the past 10 years in a voluntary capacity at the community level.

Most recently, Anum was working with the Aga Khan Education Services, Pakistan, as an Academic Coordinator and later as a Head Teacher. In these roles, she was involved in planning, managing, and evaluating curriculum design and its implementation, facilitating teacher professional development and engaging parents and other key stakeholders to support learning for their children. She also participated in research-related activities during this period.

Anum teaches Assessment Courses at the College.

Dr. Nasreen Hussain

– Ph.D. Education, Hamdard University, Pakistan
– M.Ed. TESOL, University of Manchester
– B.Ed., University of Karachi, Pakistan
– L.L.B., University of Karachi, Pakistan

Dr. Nasreen Hussain has worked at the Aga Khan University (AKU) for 24 years as well as at Institute of Business Management (IoBM). She has established M.Phil. and Ph.D. programs in Education and Business Management at AKU as well as at IoBM. She has supervised 15 M.S. and 16 Ph.D. scholars. She also held office as the Proctor of Columbia University, USA for two years. Her work experience extends to initiating two journals, which are affiliated with HEC in Y category. She regularly publishes articles in double-blind peer-review journals and has written books and book chapters as well.

Dr. Hussain has been involved in community work in Syria, Afghanistan, Egypt, and Pakistan. She has received awards from AKU, UNDP, USAID, USIS, British Council, ODA, and York & Lancaster Universities to pursue her education and research projects. Her forte is in qualitative research methods, teacher education, TESOL/TEFL, curriculum design and development, strategic educational planning, and organizational learning at tertiary level.

She teaches English courses at the Government Elementary College of Education, Hussainabad.

Hira Farhan

– Ed.M., International Education Policy and Management, Vanderbilt University, Peabody College, USA
– BBA, Institute of Business Management (IoBM), Pakistan

Hira Farhan graduated from IoBM as a sales and marketing major in 2020. Her passion for education led her to start a street school by the name of ‘Tabeer’. In 2020, she went to the US as a Fulbright Scholar for a Master’s degree in International Education Policy and Management.

Hira teaches School, Community, and Teacher at the Government Elementary College of Education, Hussainabad.

Fariha Khalil

– M.Ed., Language, Literacy, and Culture (Curriculum and Instruction), University of Washington, USA
– M.A., Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages (MATESOL), University of Washington, USA
– M.A., English (Linguistics and Literature), National University of Modern Languages, Pakistan
– M.A., Education, University of Karachi

Fariha started her career by teaching at the school level for five years. At the Beaconhouse School System, she also served as a mentor for the Beginning Teachers Preparatory Program (BTP) and the Intensive English Language Development Program (IELDP) for teachers’ professional development.

Later, she joined Mohammad Ali Jinnah University as an instructor for English Language and Communication courses. She contributed to the Quality Assessment Committee by leading a campus-wide examination paper evaluation project. She has also been associated with PAF-KIET and the University of Karachi as visiting faculty.

In 2021, Fariha went to the US on Fulbright Scholarship where she simultaneously pursued master’s degrees in Curriculum and Instruction (Language, Literacy, and Culture) and TESOL at the University of Washington. Additionally, she served as a pre-doctoral instructor and presented at international conferences. Her research interests include teaching bilingual and multilingual learners and exploring instructional strategies to support students’ linguistic and cultural backgrounds.

Fariha teaches English Teaching Methods course at the Government Elementary College of Education, Hussainabad.

Unaeza Alvi

– M.Ed., Mathematics and Science Education, Monash University, Australia
– M.Sc., University of Karachi
– B.Ed., Science and English Education, University of Karachi
– B.Sc., (Hons) (Gold Medalist), University of Karachi, Pakistan

Unaeza Alvi has 25 years of extensive experience in higher education and as a science teacher, policy and development consultant at public/private sector organizations and aid agencies at national and international levels. She has studied and worked in diverse and challenging contexts, and three continents Asia, Africa and Australia – in/with higher education, top leadership (ministries and government officials), head of examination boards, armed forces to the grassroots level (including head teachers, teachers, students and local communities). Unaeza has led graduate and postgraduate programs and development projects at Aga Khan University-IED and Sukkur IBA University in MPhil in Education, STEAM, Science Education, Assessment, Testing, Curriculum, and Environmental Education, employing innovative yet contextually relevant approaches. Her research interests and publications include cutting-edge studies in science and mathematics education, teacher leadership, gamification, technology, self-organizing curriculum, constructivism/Brain Based Learning, innovative yet contextually relevant pedagogies and assessments. Unaeza has presented in national and international research conferences and published in journals.
Unaeza's contributions to education have been recognized through various awards, such as the Women and Girls in Science Award 2019 and AUS-AWARD for Masters in Math & Science Education from the University of Monash (Australia), Women in Leadership Award. Her dedication to advancing STEAM, assessment (SEALOAF), curriculum and teacher development systems continues to make a lasting impact on the educational landscape.

Unaeza teaches Science Teaching Methods courses at GECE, Hussainabad.

Rabia Siddiqui

– Ph.D in Education, Institute of Business Management (in progress)
– M.Phil. in Education, Institute of Business Management
– M.A. English Language Teaching, National Institute of Modern Languages, Karachi

After completing her M.A in ELT in 2016, Rabia began her career in education as a primary school teacher at the Beaconhouse School System, devoting two and a half years to teaching English and Social Studies. She then pursued an M.Phil. in Education from IoBM (2016-2019) and continued her academic journey with a Ph.D. in Education at the same institution, achieving a 3.96 CGPA. Alongside her doctoral studies, she worked as a Visiting Faculty at IoBM, teaching various B.Ed. courses, particularly focusing on research and social sciences.

Rabia is deeply passionate about Moral Education for children in schools, aiming to instill strong ethical values through a conducive school environment and supportive teaching practices. She has published three articles on Moral Education emphasizing the significance of nurturing moral character and social responsibility in students.

Rabia teaches Social Studies Teaching Methods courses at the College.

Shehzad Amjad

– M.A., Philosophy, Centre for Research in Modern European Philosophy, London
– M.A., History, School of Oriental and African Studies, London
– M.A., Economics, University of Karachi

Shehzad Amjad pursued contemporary Continental Philosophy and his work focuses on various strands in post-modern thought and politics of resistance. He also studied and researched colonial history, focusing essentially on the deconstruction of various colonial cultural constructs and post-colonial practices.

He has taught courses in philosophy, politics and history at Beaconhouse National University in Lahore and Usman Institute of Technology University in Karachi. His foundational academic interests fall at the confluence of metaphysics, epistemology and liberation.

He has also been a journalist at The News and GEO TV.

Afaq Ahmed

– M.Phil. Education, Aga Khan University Institute for Educational Development
– B.Ed. Hons, Institute of Education and Research, University of Peshawar

Afaq Ahmed holds a Master of Philosophy in Education (MPhil) with distinction from the Aga Khan University Institute for Educational Development (AKU-IED) and a B.Ed Hons from the University of Peshawar. He remained a member of Dean Selection Committee and the academic review committee during his time at the AKU-IED. Soon after his graduation in 2021, he worked as a research associate at AKU-IED, where he co-authored (with Dr Sajid Ali) Pakistan’s first White Paper on teaching license.

Ahmed’s research interests include education policy, teacher education and quality of teaching. He is currently researching how global policies can be effectively translated into local contexts, particularly in Pakistan. Through his research, he also aims to examine the quality of teacher education programmes and how best to prepare quality teachers. His work has appeared in blogs, newspapers and journal articles.

Afaq teaches Research courses at the college.

Quratulain Abbas

– Ph.D. Education (In progress), Institute of Business Management
– M.Phil. Education, Institute of Business Management
– M.Ed., University of Karachi
– B.Ed., University of Karachi

Quratulain Abbas is currently pursuing her Ph.D. in Education and has over a decade of experience in the field of education.

As the former Manager of Professional Development at Fatimiyah Education Network (FEN), she facilitated curriculum development and created innovative math lesson plans for elementary grades, while also mentoring math teachers. Moreover, she has conducted pedagogical training sessions both within and outside of FEN. Quratulain has been associated with Fatimiyah College of Education as a faculty member in the B.Ed. (Hons.) program since 2017.

Her research interests revolve around mathematics education, with a specific focus on elementary mathematics and its application in real-life scenarios.

Quratulain teaches Mathematics Teaching Methods courses at GECE, Hussainabad.

Nighat Shaheen

– M.A., University of Karachi
– M.Ed. Guidance and Counseling, Education College
– B.Ed., Education College
– B.A., Govt. College for Women

Nighat holds a Masters in Urdu literature from Karachi University, as well as an M.Ed. and B.Ed. from the Government College of Education, F. B. Area.Nighat’s last working experience was as an O-levels Urdu Teacher at the Beaconhouse School System PECHS College Campus. Prior to that she worked as an Assistant Manager Curriculum for Urdu & Islamiyat at Beaconhouse from 2008- 2019. Nighat has considerable experience in working with teachers to support them through model and peer teaching, lesson observations, feedback on assessments/ exam papers and focused group discussions.

Nighat will be teaching the Semester 4 “Teaching of Urdu” course at GECE in the Spring 2022 term.

Zanira Hassan Kanjiani

– M.Phil., Teacher Education, University of Karachi (in progress)
– B.Ed. Hons, University of Karachi (Gold Medalist)

Zanira has been associated with the education field for more than 5 years and has worked as an elementary and secondary teacher at both government and private schools. Recently, Zanira was working as an Academic/Career Counselor at a renowned college. Her passion for the education field reflects through her vast experience in different voluntary institutions as a learning coordinator, Teacher Trainer, and parent trainer at community level.

Zanira teaches Science Teaching Methods courses at the Government Elementary College of Education, Hussainabad.

Barirah Adeel

– M.Phil., English Language Teacher and Applied Linguistics, University of Karachi (in progress)
– B.S., English Linguistics, University of Karachi (Gold Medalist)

Barirah Adeel has more than 6 years of teaching experience at the post-secondary level. During this time, she served as a visiting faculty at the Department of English, University of Karachi where she taught English language and other courses and conducted training sessions for the newly-inducted visiting faculty members. Her areas of expertise include General and Functional English, academic reading and writing, communication skills, language and education, ESP and TESL.

As a research scholar, Barirah has worked in the domains of ELT, language assessment, metacognition and reading, language in education and cross-cultural linguistics. Currently, she is working on Translanguaging practices in ESL classrooms for her M.Phil. research.

Barirah teaches English courses at GECE, Hussainabad.

Rabiya Ganatra

– M.A., English, University of Karachi (in progress)
– M.Phil., Education, Aga Khan University, Institute for Educational Development
– Certificate in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (CELTA), Cambridge Assessment English

Rabiya has worked at Aga Khan University Institute for Educational Development as visiting faculty in their M.Ed. and M.Phil. programs, and has also served as the editor for the AKU-IED Blog during this period. She brings over a decade of classroom teaching experience in schools, such as the British Overseas School and CAS school in Karachi, and holds special interest in teaching English for Academic Purposes.


Anam Shakil

– M.A., Art Education, Beacon House National University, Lahore
– B.A., Fine Arts, University of Karachi

Anam Shakil is a visual artist and art educator based in Karachi. Since 2011, she has established her career mainly as an art educator, trainer, and curriculum specialist. Her work has a strong focus on human psychology and emotional well-being. She is also a trained counselor, specializing in child sexual abuse prevention.

In 2015, Anam established the art program at the adopted government schools of Zindagi Trust where she is working full-time as the Head of the Arts Program.

She is also associated with the Awaz Institute of Media Sciences as a visiting faculty.

Anam is currently leading a project in collaboration with Zindagi Trust in which she is designing an art curriculum to be implemented in all the government schools in Pakistan.


Aisha Ahmed

- M.Phil., Education (in progress), Iqra University
- B.Ed., Allama Iqbal University
- M.B.A., Institute of Business Management

Aisha has been working in the capacity of team leader and instructor of English language to different grade levels both in Pakistan and abroad for almost a decade. She has also served as visiting faculty at the Institute of Business Management and Al-Sharq College for Science and Technology, Saudi Arabia.

Aisha has conducted workshops on English teaching strategies at different levels to train teachers to adapt activities, create materials and develop feedback techniques. She has also developed Teacher Resource Books and has reviewed book plans and sample units for a renowned publication house.

She teaches General Teaching Methods courses at the Government Elementary College of Education, Hussainabad.

Syeda Ailya Zehra

- M. Phil. (in progress), Teacher Education, University of Karachi
- B.Ed Honors, Teacher Education, University of Karachi
- M.A. Economics, University of Karachi
- B. Com, University of Karachi

Syeda Ailya Zehra has been associated with the education field for more than twelve years. She has worked with well-reputed educational institutions of Karachi, such as St. Michael’s Convent School, British International School, and the Department of Teacher Education, University of Karachi. During her career, she has served as an elementary teacher, academic coordinator, teacher educator, and practicum mentor.

She aims at providing adequate emotional support alongside instructional support and classroom autonomy to learners. Her teaching philosophy is to create a classroom environment that not only caters to individual learning needs but also helps them become intrinsically motivated, independent learners.

Ailya teaches English Communication at the College.

Abdul Qadeer

– M.Phil., Teacher Education, Iqra University, Pakistan (in progress)
– B.Ed. Hons., Sukkur IBA University, Pakistan (with distinction)

Abdul Qadeer has been associated with teachers’ training programs in Sindh as a Master Trainer. He has an experience of more than 4 years of teaching mathematics and science at various schools and colleges.

His areas of expertise are Mathematics and Science education, ICT in Education, and educational research.

Abdul teaches Mathematics’ courses at the Government Elementary College of Education, Hussainabad.

Ahmereen Rasheed

- M.Ed., University of Karachi
- B.Ed., Federal Urdu University
- M.A., International Relations, University of Karachi
- Early Childhood Education Certification (ECE) from Teachers’ Resource Centre, Karachi
- Cambridge International Certificate in Teaching and Learning (CICTL) from CAIE, United Kingdom

Ahmereen has more than ten years of experience working in the field of education. She has worked with various renowned national and international schools. During her tenure, she has worked as a teachers’ trainer, subject specialist, and primary school teacher.

Ahmereen is innovative in her teaching practice and promotes inclusion in classrooms by incorporating themes such as global citizenship, conflict resolution, diversity, human rights, interdependence, social justice, sustainable development, and social values.

Ahmereen teaches English Teaching Methods courses at the Government Elementary College of Education, Hussainabad.

Moatter Anwer

– M.Phil., Educational Leadership and Management, SZABIST, Pakistan (ongoing)
– Masters, Educational Leadership and Management, SZABIST, Pakistan

Moatter has more than 5 years of experience in the education field. She has been associated with private schools as an elementary and secondary teacher, worked as a teacher trainer for low-income schools, and conducted a Trans Literacy Program for transgenders.

She also worked as an Instructional Resource Designer for Teachpower and eLearning Consultant for Falcon Wisdom Foundation.

Moatter teaches ICT in Education at the Government Elementary College of Education, Hussainabad.

Nikhat Husnain

– PDQ, Teaching and Learning, Cambridge University
– Masters, Cell Biology, Universite Claude Bernard Lyon 1, France
– B.Sc. Hons. & M.Sc., Biotechnology, University of Karachi

Nikhat has been associated with the teaching profession for the past 11 years during which she worked as a Science Lead – Middle Section and a Biology teacher. During this time, she was responsible for management of the science department and implementation of the science curriculum. She has also completed her PDQ in Teaching and Learning from Cambridge University. Nikhat has acquired training on Pedagogy and Teaching of Science by various institutes including Cambridge, IED, ERDC, and British Council. Recently, she has received training on Holistic Science Teaching by Pakistan Innovation Foundation.

Nikhat teaches General Science at GECE.

Shafaq Zaman

- Two-year Diploma in Tajweed and Tafheem ul Quran from Quran Institute
- MBA from Federal Urdu Science
- BBA from Federal Urdu Science University

Shafaq has over 8 years of teaching experience at the school level. In 2018 she joined Generation’s School as their Lead Teacher for Islamiyat, where she was involved in curriculum design, planning, exploring new teaching pedagogies and assessment activities. As a team lead she was also mentoring other teachers on their lesson planning and delivery.

Shafaq teaches Islamic Studies courses at the College.