Silver lining: A means of survival becomes business venture for the Maniyas

Atique and Adil plan to open an A’ Levels college to offer education at affordable prices

KARACHI: Atique Maniya only had his education to offer when his father’s business went down in 2003 and the teenager was forced to give tuitions to earn some cash. Nearly 12 years later, him and his brother, Adil, are ready to open doors to their own A’ Levels college that will offer affordable education.

“My life as Atique Maniya, son of a wealthy and powerful businessman, turned 360 degrees after my father lost everything in his business,” the 25-year-old young man said. It was a difficult time for him, his older brother and his two younger sisters.

Their father, Ahmed, used to live in the United States until 1992 when he had to move back to Pakistan after the death of Atique’s grandmother. “After he came to Pakistan, he invested his money in a car showroom on Tariq Road and it did really well until 2002 when the downfall hit us,” he said.

The siblings were forced to leave their Cambridge school and switch to the Matric system as their parents found it hard to pay the high fees. “In 2003, my father started repairing air conditioners and refrigerators in a small, rented shop near Jail Chowrangi to earn for us,” Atique said proudly. However, the family had to vacate its 2,000 square-yard bungalow and move into a small apartment.

His elder brother, Adil, who was 15 years old at the time, started giving tuitions to students of O’ Levels and Atique picked up a few odd jobs in marketing and selling. “I never feel shy in doing those jobs,” he said. During 2004 and 2006 when the market for mobile phones was on the boom, Atique sold the latest cell phones to his school friends and earned a commission on each piece from the dealer.

Mobile seller to teacher

The turning point in Atique’s life came when his elder brother suggested he join his tuitions and become a teacher. “I was not happy with this,” he admitted. “But, at that time, we wanted to earn as much as we could from tuitions to cover our university fees and household expenses.”

For his brother, the drive to start earning on his own came when he learned that his parents had to take a loan from their grandmother and uncle to pay the first semester fee for his BBA programme at Iqra University. “[After that] I would drop out after each semester to make some money and then cover the fees of the following semester,” Adil explained, adding that he never managed to complete the programme.

Leap of faith

Once the tuition business took off, Adil decided to take it to the next level. His plan was to get 50 students but it was harder to manage inside their apartment. “We rented out a space for a proper tuition centre,” said Atique. “Maniya’s Coaching Centre was a great success.” In the last five years, it has gone from 50 students to 700.

Now the brothers are ready to lay the foundation of their own A’ Levels school by the name of Rayden College. “We are very close to our aim,” said Atique. “The academy will provide good quality education at affordable prices. We want to give students the opportunity that we couldn’t have.”

The young brothers are proud of their parents for never letting them feel low. “My mother sold bed sheets,” he smiled as he remembered. There were times when their cousins felt ashamed of them and the main discussion at family weddings would be their lost status.

But the brothers see a silver lining. “If my father had not lost everything in his business then I would not be the same person I am today,” he admitted. “My attitude, my way of living and my vision would be not as down to earth as it is today.”

Published in The Express Tribune, April 4^th, 2015.