Faculty News

A new prize for education and social justice research in South Asia has been launched in memory of Dr Arif Naveed. Arif was an outstanding Pakistani social scientist who undertook his doctoral research at the Faculty of Education. Very sadly, he died last year at the age of just 42. Appropriately for a Pakistani scholar who held a deep commitment to promoting social justice and equality through education in South Asia, the prize will be awarded annually to an outstanding Masters or doctoral student at the University of Cambridge (current or past) for published research focusing on these issues in a South Asian context. Its launch was announced by Professor Kamal Munir, Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Community and Engagement at the University of Cambridge, at the 25th anniversary celebrations of Idara-e-Taleem-o-Aagahi (ITA), which promotes progressive education in Pakistan. It was also announced by Arif’s PhD supervisor, Professor Madeleine Arnot, at the BAICE Early Career Researcher conference in Oxford. Arif had served on the BAICE Student Committee, helped launch their Student Fieldwork Grant, and co-hosted the 2016 Student Conference. Arif was born in south Punjab and studied at Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad, the University of Bath and the University of Cambridge, where he was awarded a Gates scholarship for his PhD. His doctoral research explored how education in Pakistan could be rethought to meet local priorities and citizens’ aspirations. He later held a British Academy postdoctoral fellowship and lectureship at Bath. Prior to his untimely death, Arif undertook influential and widely celebrated work which, as well as persistently traversing disciplinary boundaries and illuminating new intellectual connections in the process, challenged ideas about mass schooling in the Global South and provided evidence for a wider reform agenda which put inequalities at the heart of education policy. Arif’s wife and daughter, along with colleagues and friends, were present for the announcements of the award. More information about the prize can be found here. A celebration of Arif’s life can be found here. here.