Zaha Climate Resilient School

Alight (formerly American Refugee Committee - ARC)

Zaha Climate Resilient School

A mobile, eco-friendly learning solution offering quality education to marginalized children in climate-vulnerable regions

Islamabad, Pakistan

PAK

Nonprofit

Pakistan is facing an Education Emergency, with 26.2 million school-aged children out of school and inadequate learning outcomes threatening the country’s development trajectory (National Educational Development Framework, 2024). The situation has been further worsened by the COVID-19 pandemic and the devastating floods of 2021–2022. The monsoon floods of 2022 disrupted education for over 3.5 million children, with many schools destroyed or repurposed as shelters for displaced families. This loss of learning environments threatens the future of Pakistan’s young population and underline the urgent need for resilient systems to mitigate such crises. Beyond these emergencies, systemic challenges continue to persist, such as long home to school distances, gender disparities, insufficient public spending for the education sector, non-conducive learning environment at schools and other factors like poverty, child labor, lack of basic facilities, outdated curricula, lack of quality teachers, and cultural constraints like early marriage. The absence of separate washrooms and poor menstrual hygiene management further discourage school attendance, especially among girls, pushing many out of the classroom entirely.

Alight, in partnership with the Education Above All Foundation (EAA), has established the Zaha School for out-of-school children on the outskirts of Islamabad Capital Territory. What sets Zaha School apart is its climate-resilient structure (designed by the late world-renowned architect Zaha Hadid), the first of its kind in Pakistan. These low-cost, lifesaving, and environmentally friendly structures can be relocated in case of floods or other emergencies. The project was a generous gift from Her Highness Sheikha Moza, Co-Founder and Chair of the Qatar Foundation, awarded in recognition of our successful implementation of the EAA initiative in Pakistan which aimed to enrol one million out-of-school children. Installed on land donated by Future Development Holdings, the Zaha School comprises two multimedia-enabled classrooms - one for foundational education for out-of-school children and the other as a skill development center for adolescent girls and women, and a secure playground enclosed by boundary walls. It provides free, quality education to children from over 300 households. Operating in both morning and evening shifts, the school also promotes digital literacy and women’s empowerment. The trend setting structure shows how the schools in future would look like and the unique model of educational landscape transformation in Pakistan

We serve out-of-school children (ages 6–16) in line with Article 25-A of the Constitution of Pakistan, which guarantees free and compulsory education for all children aged 5 to 16. While the state is responsible for ensuring this right, millions of children remain out of school due to poverty, cultural constraints, displacement, and lack of infrastructure. To bridge this gap, Alight constructed this state-of-the-art, innovative smart school for local children. The structural components were fabricated in Turkey by Dual Engineering, which flew in a team of experts to assemble and operationalize the building. The purpose of the School of the Future is to provide an enriching and transformative environment for children. It operates in both morning and evening shifts to accommodate children who are engaged during the day, such as those helping their families tend to livestock. Beyond education, the school drive digital transformation and basic technology literacy, while also promoting female empowerment by offering training opportunities to local communities. This school offers education from early childhood to Grade 8, equivalent to formal schooling. For older girls and women, we provide vocational training and are introducing a Middle Tech program with JICA to blend academic learning with practical skills.