The PECHS Girls’ School was established in 1955 under the vision and guidance of Begum Amina Majeed Malik (Baji).
The school, and then the college, which she founded in 1961, quickly established a reputation for living up to Baji’s vision which was to provide young Pakistani women with an education which was ‘the best of the East and West.’ This is how Baji had envisioned the school’s ethos and principles and this vision continues to guide us.
Her aim was to ensure that young women received an education whereby they could move at ease in both the eastern and western worlds. She believed that it is our duty to provide such opportunities for our young women.
She believed that if diversity is embraced it becomes a soul-enhancing force, but if it is viewed with prejudice and paranoia, it becomes destructive. She also believed that in an ideal situation, education must not become a commercial, profit-driven product. The state should provide quality education to all. It is sad that to date, successive governments have failed to achieve this. Therefore, it is our aim to provide as affordable an education as possible at the highest quality possible.
In its early years, the school did not seek support from power or authority, but from the world of Art, Culture and Education. Sadequain painted murals for the school and college free of cost. These were subsequently donated by Baji to the Mohatta Palace. Our acclaimed singers such as, Farida Khanum, Iqbal Bano and Roshanara Begum performed on the campus and many other friends raised funds or provided technical expertise. Professor Saleemuzzaman Siddiqui, one of Pakistan’s great scientists, designed a gas plant for the school. And Faiz Ahmed Faiz remained committed to the project throughout his lifetime. Our school library is named after him. Prominent foreign dignitaries such as Prince Phillip from UK and Prince Bernard from the Netherlands also visited and supported the school.
In 1972, when Zulfikar Ali Bhutto announced the nationalisation of educational establishments, Baji was amongst the few educationalists that welcomed the move. However, in a wise decision, the Bhutto government ruled that the PECHS Girls’ School and a few other institutions should remain in private control because the quality of education imparted was exceptional.
PECHS College, however, was nationalized as per government policy. In January 2000, the government of Pakistan acknowledged Baji’s immense contribution to education by naming the nationalised college after her.
Active management of the PECHS Girls’ School was taken over by Baji’s daughter Nageen Malik in 1983 and the current principal, Seema Malik has carried the vision forward since 1999.
The PECHS School remained a co-educational institution until 1961 and co-educational up to the primary level until 1971. Many women in Karachi who have emerged as achievers have done so through the schooling and education the PECHS Girls’ School and the college provided them, for it has not just been an ordinary school, but in fact a storehouse of art, culture and academic achievement.
The school was affiliated with both the Cambridge O’Levels Exam Board and the Sindh Matriculation Board. When a local Exam Board was established and had proved it’s worth, the PECHS Girls’ School affiliated with the AKU-Examination Board in 2011. This has been an extremely satisfying experience in sync with our philosophy and teaching and learning methodologies. In 2014 and 2015 we achieved top positions all over Pakistan.
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