LAHORE: The Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS) has announced the establishment of a new school, the School of Education. Following approval from the Board of Trustees, the School of Education has joined LUMS as its fifth school, along with schools for business, management, humanities, social sciences, law and science and engineering.
The exploratory phase for the establishment of the school was initiated in October 2015 with funding from the Babar Ali Foundation. The primary vision behind this school was to enable LUMS to intervene as a thought leader and change maker in a rapidly expanding educational environment of Pakistan. The Planning Committee of the project included LUMS Pro-Chancellor Syed Babar Ali, LUMS Management Committee member Osman Khalid Waheed, LUMS Vice Chancellor Dr Sohail Naqvi. Moreover the school has been established with Pomona College Professor of Economics Dr Tahir Andrabi as executive director, and Dr. Mariam Chughtai, Doctorate in Education from Harvard University, as associate director of the school. Harvard Kennedy School’s Professor of International Finance and Development and Associate Professor of Economics at LUMS, Dr Faisal Bari, were the key advisors to the team.
During the exploratory phase of the project, the team established local, regional and international linkages through events such as the inaugural Education Roundtable at LUMS in March 2016, and convened academics, practitioners, and policy experts with the aim of understanding disparate perspectives on education reform in Pakistan.
In May 2016, an Education Roundtable at Harvard University seeded international partnerships for the project with top universities like Harvard University, Stanford University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, New York University, University of Pennsylvania, Columbia University, and the Northwestern University amongst others. Faculty from these universities will comprise the International Advisory Board for the newly established school. The network of partners that the LUMS School of Education has been developing is crucial not only to its policy and its social impact, but also contributes to establishing a strong national footprint and a globally connected position.
With regards to the academics of the school, three programmes will be offered under the School of Education – A Masters in Education Policy, Leadership and Management, starting in Fall 2018; a Minor in Education for LUMS undergraduate students, and a Professional Education Institute for Policy and Practice to actively engage with and provide trainings to the public, private, non-profit and donor sectors of education in the country.
The LUMS School of Education will operate at the crucial nexus of research, policy and practice, supporting a faculty that is internationally competitive, connected and relevant. The curriculum, featuring extensive field engagement, will produce graduates capable of becoming strategic leaders, policy researchers, and reflective practitioners, distinctly placed to direct and shape a vibrant education reform agenda for Pakistan.
