International Schools: Pakistan Ranks Among Top 5 Countries in the World

[Riaz Haq]

Pakistan ranks among the top 5 nations in terms of international schools offering schooling based on International Baccalaureate (IB) and IGCSE (Cambridge) curricula. China leads with 1,000 international schools, followed by India (900), UAE (784), Pakistan (598) and Brazil (415). The medium of instruction in these schools is English. 

Aitchison College, Lahore, Pakistan

The international schools in India and Pakistan date back to the days of the British Raj when these schools were established to serve the children of the British and the British-Indian civil servants. Later, these schools also attracted the children of diplomats and expats as well as Indian and Pakistani elites. Today, the vast majority of students attending these schools are the children of rich Indians and Pakistanis. 

Karachi Grammar School, Karachi, Pakistan

The international schools favored by Pakistani elites include Aitchison College, Karachi Grammar School,  Lahore Grammar School and the American International Schools located in Islamabad, Karachi and Lahore. The tuition at the most expensive international schools in Pakistan runs from $12,000 to $15,000 a year. Beaconhouse schools in Pakistan cost less than these select schools. The graduates of international schools often attend elite universities in the UK and the United States, in addition to top Pakistani private universities like LUMS (Lahore University of Management Sciences) in Lahore and the Aga Khan University in Karachi. 

The Aga Khan University, Karachi, Pakistan

Former finance minister Dr. Miftah Ismail, a member of Karachi's rich business elite, attended Karachi Grammar School and went on to earn a PhD from UPenn's Wharton School of Business.  In an article in Dawn newspaper titled "The One Percent Republic", he wrote about elitism in education as follows: 

"There are around 400,000 schools in Pakistan. Yet in some years half of our Supreme Court judges and members of the federal cabinet come from just one school: Aitchison College in Lahore. Karachi Grammar School provides an inordinate number of our top professionals and richest businessmen. If we add the three American schools, Cadet College Hasanabdal (alma mater of military top brass) and a few expensive private schools, maybe graduating 10,000 kids in total, we can be sure that these few kids will be at the top of most fields in Pakistan in the future, just as their fathers are at the very top today..... Pakistan’s economy thus only relies on whatever a small elite can achieve. It remains underdeveloped as it ignores the talent of most in the country."

Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS)

Pakistan's former Prime Minister Imran Khan attended Aitchison College, an elite school established in Lahore by South Asia's colonial rulers to produce faithful civil servants during the British Raj. He then went on to graduate from Oxford University in England. Here's an excerpt of what he wrote in an article published by the Arab News on January 14, 2002:

"My generation grew up at a time when colonial hang up was at its peak. Our older generation had been slaves and had a huge inferiority complex of the British. The school I went to was similar to all elite schools in Pakistan. Despite gaining independence, they were, and still are, producing replicas of public schoolboys rather than Pakistanis. I read Shakespeare, which was fine, but no Allama Iqbal — the national poet of Pakistan. The class on Islamic studies was not taken seriously, and when I left school I was considered among the elite of the country because I could speak English and wore Western clothes. Despite periodically shouting ‘Pakistan Zindabad’ in school functions, I considered my own culture backward and religion outdated. Among our group if any one talked about religion, prayed or kept a beard he was immediately branded a Mullah. Because of the power of the Western media, our heroes were Western movie stars or pop stars. When I went to Oxford already burdened with this hang up, things didn’t get any easier. At Oxford, not just Islam, but all religions were considered anachronism."

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[Riaz Haq]

Three amazing Pakistani schools——have made it to the Top 10 finalists for the World’s Best School Prizes 2025! Founded by T4 Education, these prestigious awards celebrate schools transforming lives with innovative education. From empowering marginalized kids with IB curricula to bringing STEM to rural areas via Science Gaari, and fostering kindness with parental involvement, these schools shine globally. Vote for the Community Choice Award, open today, with winners announced in October!

Follow Hi Pakistan for more updates!
Note: AI-generated image for illustration.

#PakistanEducation #WorldsBestSchool #Innovation #STEM #Community #Kindness #GlobalLearning #EducationForAll #hipakistan


Three Pakistani schools among Top 10 finalists for World’s Best School Prizes 2025

https://www.arabnews.com/node/2605018/pakistan

Finalists are Sanjan Nagar Public Education Trust School, Nordic International School, Beaconhouse College Program Juniper Campus
The winners and finalists of the global schools prizes will be invited to the World Schools Summit in Abu Dhabi, UAE, on November 15–16


Sanjan Nagar Public Education Trust Higher Secondary School in Lahore has been shortlisted for the World’s Best School Prize for Overcoming Adversity. The charity school, which began in an abandoned factory, now educates nearly 800 students from marginalized backgrounds through the International Baccalaureate’s Primary Years Program. It is the first in Pakistan to offer this curriculum to underserved communities, empowering students with critical 21st-century skills and bridging socio-economic divides.

Beaconhouse College Program, Juniper Campus, Quetta, is a finalist for the Community Collaboration prize for its “Science Gaari” initiative — a student-led mobile science lab bringing hands-on STEM education to remote schools in Balochistan, one of Pakistan’s most underserved provinces. The project has reached over 150 schools, boosting science engagement and inspiring rural students to pursue careers in technology and research.

Nordic International School Lahore has also been named a finalist for Community Collaboration. The independent school emphasizes strong parental involvement and a culture of kindness to foster a supportive learning environment. Parents are engaged throughout students’ academic journeys via an interactive app, regular workshops, and celebrations of learning milestones.

“It is in schools like Sanjan Nagar, BCP Juniper Campus Quetta, and Nordic International School Lahore where we find the innovations and expertise that give us hope for a better future,” T4 Education Founder Vikas Pota said.

[Riaz Haq]

Moeed W. Yusuf
@YusufMoeed
In my two years as head of Beaconhouse National University (
@BNULahore
), the one thing I am most proud of is our unwavering commitment to creating a best practice model for SUPPORTING OUR STUDENTS in every way possible. Ultimately, that is why we (or any university) exist.

At
@BNULahore
, we firmly believe that the very first thing any educational institution must provide to its students is a safe and healthy space. A zero tolerance for any sort of substance use is quintessential to our vision. Unfortunately, it is typically not easy to keep university campuses “clean” – not in Pakistan and not anywhere else in the world. The age cohorts that universities cater to are the most susceptible to substance use. And availability of drugs has really grown over the years.

When we publicly committed to creating a best practice model on zero tolerance for drugs, I was cautioned that these things create reputational damage because people see it as an admission of a problem on campus. I didn’t agree then and I don’t agree now.

As a non-profit university, it is our job and responsibility to work on societal issues for public welfare. You don’t have to have a major problem yourself to be passionate about an issue that destroys young minds and their families in no time.

I am proud to report that not only is
@BNULahore
a TOTALLY DRUG-FREE campus, but we have also documented a specific best practice model to achieve this for all universities in Pakistan. We are working to finalize and launch it in partnership with HEC/others and help others implement it. I also invite colleagues from any other university in Pakistan or abroad to visit
@BNULahore
to see our campus and experience the safe space that it is for all of our 3000+ students, 50 percent of whom are female.

Our commitment and passion for supporting our students in all aspects of their overall academic journey were recognized by The Times Higher Education rankings this year. Their 2025 Asia Awards which cover the entire Asian continent shortlisted
@BNULahore
as one of the top 8 universities in terms of “Student Support”. We were also the only university in Asia to be shortlisted as finalists in three categories (“Most Innovative Teacher” and “Sustainability” being the other two).

I must recognize each and every member of the
@BNULahore
team who has worked with utmost dedication on these issues. We were fortunate to have had a stellar counsellor, Ms. Sadia Nawaz, and a fantastic administration team who led these efforts, complemented by our natural advantage of having one of the strongest Psychology faculty and student body in the country.

I feel parents who entrust their children to any university deserve to be told what kind of ecosystem their children are immersed in. Parents must not ignore this supposedly non-academic (but intrinsically connected) aspect of a university environment. In fact, a safe and healthy environment is far more important than the classroom.

To all who care,
@BNULahore
proudly is and will remain a drug-free campus NO MATTER WHAT. InshaAllah!

https://x.com/YusufMoeed/status/1938173201017721083

[Riaz Haq]

A graduate of Nixor College, an international school in Karachi, Pakistan, has a San Francisco-based tech startup, commands an $18 to $20 billion valuation.

https://www.riazhaq.com/2025/06/pakistani-american-entrepreneurs-ai...

Anysphere, founded in 2022 by Sualeh Asif, Arvid Lunnemark, Aman Sanger and Michael Truell, has been approached by investors about a deal that would more than double its valuation in a new funding round to $18 to $20 billion, according to Bloomberg. Sualeh Asif, 25, the Chief Product Officer and co-founder, hails from Karachi, Pakistan. He studied at Nixor College in Karachi before going to the United States in 2018. He met the other three co-founders while studying at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). One-half (Sualeh Asif and Aman Sanger) of the startup’s founding team is of South Asian origin. The company moved to San Francisco soon after its founding in 2022.