Shahwar Sadeque combines a passion for learning with a practical understanding of the challenges facing the UK’s education system

Shahwar Sadeque’s CV is an epic story spanning two continents and a dizzying array of institutions, public sector organisations and private companies. Now a Council Member for City & Guilds, she started her career in the 1960s working as a computer programmer, realising even then that technology would play a significant role in shaping society. Since then she has worked on the Commission for Racial Equality, was a member of the School Curriculum and Assessment Authority, served as a BBC governor and was appointed a Special Representative of the Foreign Secretary. An eclectic mix of positions, but one that has given Sadeque a singular vision of the challenges facing the UK’s education system.

Sadeque came to England from East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) in 1963. With a background in physics, she arrived in September and gave birth in November. ‘My mother’s motto is to educate her daughters as she would her sons and I started college when my daughter was just six weeks old.’
Working with computers in the 1960s that were the size of a room, Sadeque believes that the pace of change has created major holes in the education system. ‘Inner city schools have difficulties finding teachers with the right scientific knowledge. I often hear that the curriculum is fine but that the teachers don’t have indepth knowledge. This creates real problems in terms of our competitiveness.’

Improved technical training is crucial and Sadeque believes that the end goal should not be just in getting more people to study a degree in physics. ‘It’s no good politicians saying 50% should go to university. To do what? Education is not just about the individual, it’s also about the good of the country. A country cannot move forward with academics alone – we don’t just need the Brunels of this world, we need the people who can do.’ Sadeque is delighted to be involved with City & Guilds, believing that the 500 qualifications it offers will allow individuals and the UK to prosper. ‘I know a lot of people are at home caring, for instance. To give them the recognition that City & Guilds’ qualifications do is fantastic.’