What we do
Good schools within reach
Quest for Education Foundation is a UK registered charity. Since 2011 we have raised funds and given strategic support to the Kashmir Education Foundation (KEF), which runs schools in rural Pakistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), and a college that trains women as teachers.
We believe education should be affordable and accessible for every child, wherever they live and whatever family they are born into. In many rural areas, cost and distance still keep children, and girls in particular, from a good school.
Education gives children the chance to build successful careers. It also helps rural economies to grow, creating lasting change for families and communities.
Boats on Banjosa Lake, surrounded by pine forest.
Our aims
We raise awareness of education in Pakistan and raise funds for KEF’s work, with three aims: access, equality and training.
Access
Making good-quality education accessible to boys and girls in rural communities, in schools where places do not depend on a family’s ability to pay.
Equality
Supporting KEF’s aspiration for girls to take at least 51% of school places, and the training of women as teachers for their own communities.
Training
Supporting KEF’s college, which trains women as primary teachers so that rural schools have skilled teachers who help children understand, not just memorise.
Pupils perform a play at the inauguration of Banjosa Valley Public School.
How our partnership with KEF works
KEF has run schools in the region since 1996 and, according to KEF, has trained 1,250 teachers. It runs the schools and the college day to day and funds most of their work.
Quest for Education Foundation raises funds and support in the UK to help KEF run them. We also give strategic support, and our network of UK educators volunteers advice on curriculum and teaching.
The three schools and the college we support:
- Pearl Valley Public School, Rawalakot (opened 1996)
- Soan Valley Public School, Bassali (opened 2005)
- Banjosa Valley Public School, Banjosa (opened 2009)
- Joan Atkinson College of Teacher Education, Bassali (started 2001)
Soan Valley Public School and the college share a site in Bassali, near Rawat in Rawalpindi district.
Our vision, mission and values
Why we exist, what we set out to do and the values that guide how we work.
Our vision
We want every child in the rural communities where KEF works to have a good-quality education, whatever their family’s circumstances. We believe investing in quality education is the best long-term way to tackle poverty and inequality, and to give everyone the chance to play their part in the development of their communities and beyond.
Our mission
Quest for Education Foundation was established to raise awareness of education in Pakistan and to raise funds and support for KEF’s work in rural communities. We are committed to:
- strengthening the schools and college we support, through funding and expertise;
- supporting teachers to develop their skills, because good teaching improves pupils’ learning;
- expanding access for girls, so they have the same chance to learn and succeed as boys;
- lasting impact, so that schools benefit their pupils and the wider community for years to come.
Guests browse a display of photographs beside the pavilion at Cricket4Education 2014.
Our values
Passion
We are driven by a desire to help children achieve their potential.
Equality
We believe all children have equal worth and equal rights.
Transparency
We keep our records open to our donors and to the public.
Quest for Education Foundation is registered with the Charity Commission for England and Wales (no. 1142569). See our accounts and governance on the Charity Commission register.
Help more children learn
Your gift helps KEF’s schools and college give children in rural Pakistan and AJK a good education.