His career has included four principalships, advocacy and support in a range of professional associations, serving as deputy chief executive officer of the New Zealand Qualifications Authority (NZQA) and as chair of the Independent Taskforce commissioned by the Sixth Labour Government in 2018 to review Tomorrow's Schools.
Haque completed his teacher training at Garnett College in 1973,[2] and graduated from Massey University in 1995 with the degree of Master of Educational Administration and Leadership (Hons).
After two years teaching back in the United Kingdom, Haque returned to New Zealand and was employed as head of economics at Spotswood College from 1982 to 1987, being appointed deputy principal in 1988.
[10] Early in his role at the college, Haque expressed concern about the amount of time some students were taking off school and while he acknowledged it was often to attend cultural or sporting events and ultimately the decision rested with the families, they could still be academically disadvantaged by the end of the year.
[11] He announced in September 2014 that the college had created an online portal for parents to monitor the progress of their children, providing access to NCEA credit summaries, attendance, timetables and fees.
In his role as president, Haque said this reflected "a demand and supply issue" when compromises were likely to be made during a time of shortage due to an increase in roll numbers at secondary schools, but it was important that it did not affect the quality of education as there was little parents could do about this.
[20][21] He held the role of deputy chief executive, qualifications division, of NZQA from 2006 until 2011, with the specific responsibility for managing the National Certificate of Educational Achievement (NCEA),[22] in particular establishing "quality assurance of both internal and external assessment and the analysis and publication of results".
[30]: p.4 In an interview in 2023, Haque reflected on his years as deputy chief executive at NZQA and the structural changes he was involved in to address a demoralised, "inward-looking" culture within the organisation and restore public credibility in a national qualification.
[37] While the Taskforce's draft review was going through the process of public consultation in December 2018 [38] Haque spoke frequently in the media and at community meetings to clarify the rationale for many of the suggested changes, contending that while most people agreed things needed to be done differently, anxiety was understandable.
[42] On 4 February 2021, Haque supported calls from the Principals' Federation for the Ministry of Education to provide more leadership in the face of poor results by students in a range of international and national tests.
He expressed concern that the government was taking an ad hoc approach and stood by the taskforce's recommendation for the creation of a "new Crown organisation that would operate regional hubs to support schools".
He concluded that dysfunction within the Ministry of Education needed to be addressed, cross-party agreements were required to deal with problems in the system and a strong national network of support for schools was necessary if the reforms were to be effectively implemented.
[47] During the campaign he questioned the timing of the advertising for a new chief executive, saying this should have happened after the elections to allow the new council to develop the job description as an "essential part" of the recruitment process.
[48] Later, when an appointment of an interim chief executive went ahead, Haque said he believed the decision was the correct one, although he questioned why a position with a short-term contract had been accorded the status of "full authority".
Vice-chancellor Professor Jan Thomas said Haque "exemplifies the 'value add' of a professional postgraduate qualification undertaken in mid-career and amply demonstrates the multiple ways in which talented Massey University graduates contribute significantly to the national economic and social good".