Karim Aga Khan, the spiritual head of the Ismaili community, Wednesday cleared an international school of excellence for Andhra Pradesh.

Aga Khan, the 49th Imam or spiritual head of the community, accompanied by officials of the Aga Khan Foundation, inspected a 50-acre site offered by the state government near Hyderabad-Srisailam highway, about 8 km from here.

The school, to be built by the Agha Khan Development Network, is expected to start functioning from July 2006. It will offer education till Class 10 at international standards.

The Aga Khan Academy for Education will be set up under the aegis of Aga Khan Education Services, a wing of Aga Khan Development Network, to run the school.
 
Khan, who flew in a special aircraft, had a meeting with Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy during his seven-hour visit to the city. He left for France later.
 
Reddy told reporters they also decided to start an institute to train engineering teachers at the international level. He said the Aga Khan expressed interest in starting a nursing school here.

"They also want to participate in many programmes in Andhra Pradesh. The Prince (Aga Khan) is expected to come again in January for mutual discussions. I hope that his visit will bring a lot of benefits to the state," Reddy said.
   
--Indo-Asian News Service