KARACHI: Renowned educationist and writer Dr Ismail Saad passed away at his home in Karachi early Monday morning after a brief illness. He was 90.

Dr Saad played a pioneering role in establishing the Department of Special Education at Karachi University, where he served as project director. He also served as the chairman of KU’s Department of Education from 1987 to 1990.

He held prominent positions in universities around Karachi, retiring in 2020 from the position of Dean, Faculty of Education and Learning Sciences, Iqra University, which he joined in 2005. He served as the vice chancellor of Hamdard University.

He had also served as KU registrar from 1976 to 1979.

His biggest accomplishment was launching the department of special education, says his life partner Geti Naseem Saad, 83, who lost her best friend just 40 days after the passing of her older sister Shireen Islam.

She remembers the breakneck speed with which her husband worked, their house filled with educationists for a week designing the syllabus and putting the programme together.

Born in Lucknow in December 1931, Ismail Saad got his BA at Jamia Millia Islami, Delhi,1950. He moved to Karachi in 1953 after doing his MA in Economics at Meerut College. Besides Urdu and English, he was fluent in Persian and Arabic — his father Saaduddin Ansari was a teacher of Arabic who on principle took no remuneration for teaching.

Published in Dawn, January 18th, 2022