Our Directors

Falak Shaikhani

Founder & Director

Falak received training in early childhood education from Finland, UK and Dubai and is completing a certificate in Educational Leadership from Harvard. She is deeply inspired by the Early Year Foundation Stages (EYFS) approach in the British curriculum, as well as the Finnish and Reggio Emilia approach, which places student needs and abilities above all else. As founder, it is her objective to provide quality education through incorporating the best, most innovative pedagogical techniques in early childhood education from around the world.

Kashan Iqbal

Director

Kashan Iqbal holds an ACCA, and is the acting director at Alpha College and Alpha High-School in Karachi, Pakistan. His experience as an individual driven to provide quality education at the primary and secondary levels in Pakistan makes him a valuable asset at Aster. It is his vision that a child should be provided quality education from an early age; a great foundation, in his opinion, goes a long way. This is why he is committed to extending his experience to the development of a strong early years curriculum that can ensure a child’s success in the future.

Mughees Bilwani

Director

Mughees Bilwani is an entrepreneur and foreign exchange trader by profession. While his semester abroad at Monash University in Australia, he was exposed to very non-traditional teaching methods which encouraged him to explore it more. Mughees loves to try new things, he is an avid supporter of the use of technology and strongly believes in investing in Innovative Education Methods.

In his personal life, he is an adventure seeker. He plays all kinds of sports from cricket to volleyball to squash and prioritizes living a healthy lifestyle. He believes that people learn the most through real life experiences which has influenced his philosophy for education: learning is not limited to a certain age, it is ever-flowing and continuous. Being a precious member of The Aster School he ensures that everything we offer is serving a purpose for the child.

Nawaid Ali

Director

Nawaid Ali, also a director at Alpha College and Alpha High-School, has been involved in the teaching profession for over 20 years. He is one of the most well reputed Physics instructors in Karachi – because of his invaluable experience and expertise as an educator he has been an integral part of Aster’s growth. It is his belief that every institution should provide a fulfilling and nurturing environment to students, so that they may grow in every way possible. As such, he is passionate about building Aster into an institution that provides precisely this growth, in wonderful and joyful ways.

Omer Altaf

Director

Omer Altaf holds an ACCA, and as a director at Aster, is devoted to help both the institution as well as the students at Aster evolve. He is also on-board at Alpha College and Alpha High-School as a director. His passion as an educationist, and his drive to develop engaging pedagogical models in Pakistan has helped Aster immensely in evolving as an institution. As a father, he remembers that he was very happy on the first day his daughter went to school – later on, being an educationist, he realised that although she was doing well, she had the ability to do something better. It was then that he realized the value of innovative pedagogy in early years, as it can instil valuable skills in a child for a rapidly changing world. Aster is the place where he believes that his daughter would get the education that she deserves. He is currently the director of Alpha College and Alpha High-School.

Salman Mustafa

Director

Salman Mustafa holds an MSc in Economics, and has worked with a number of prestigious educational institutions in Karachi, such as the Beaconhouse School System and The City School. He currently also acts as the director at Alpha College, and is committed to extending his expertise towards early childhood education in Pakistan. For him, his work as an educator is a choice before it is a profession. It is his belief that by actively working towards alternate, innovative teaching methodologies and spaces, educators, such as those at Aster, can drive a crucial change in the country’s education system.

Shehroz Iqbal

Director

Shehroze Iqbal holds an ACCA, and now works as an educationist in Pakistan. He is affiliated with Alpha College and Alpha High-School as a director. For him, the idea behind Aster is to bring about a revolution in the education system in Pakistan. He believes that the early phase of a child’s education is the most critical part of any child’s growth and education. He recognizes that the current system in place for early education has a lot of flaws and is not suitable for our rapidly changing world. As a director at Aster, his plan is to develop a system that can help children to achieve their maximum potential as an individual by incorporating the latest innovations in the education industry worldwide. As an educationist, he believes that this one of the greatest contributions that institutions should strive for, for the youth of our nation.

Zarak Mushtaq

Director

Zarak Mushtaq believes in developing an education model which is less of an imposition of age-old, unquestioned traditional teaching methods – as an educationist, and a director at Alpha College and Alpha High School, he is driven to work on pedagogy that is based on the fact that every child is different. As such, it is his vision for Aster, that early childhood education should nurture a child’s creative expression, so that they may explore their individuality and grow into their unique personalities in a healthy and happy way.