(MENAFN- Gulf Times) The Ideal Indian School is a one-of-a-kind learning experience for young minds in Qatar. Established in 1985 as a no-profit, no-loss institution by community leaders in Doha, the school aims at supporting Indian community and education. It still runs on a no-profit, no-loss basis.
The school was initially started in a rented building and now owns one that it got eight years ago. It has five different blocks. The school has approximately 5,600 students, 300 teachers, and 550 employees, including all support staff.
Khalid Mohammed Ghanem Mayoof al-Kubaisi is its chairman and Dr Hassan Kunhi M P the president.
Syed Shoukath Ali is the school's principal. He has been the head of one of the biggest schools in Qatar for five years. The 45-year-old started his career as a principal in Bangalore, India. Community sat with him to know more about what makes the school tick and future ideas.
Please tell us briefly about yourself.
I joined the IIS in November 2011. I have MPhil in Zoology and am currently, busy completing my PhD in the subject. I started my career as an educationist and principal some 22 years ago. I was very lucky to get a breakthrough as a principal. I benefited from schooling in English medium thanks to my father's willingness to spend on the education of his children.
I am married with two daughters; one is in Grade 4 and the other in Grade 5. Both study in the IIS. They are my asset.
Give us a snapshot of what's noteworthy about the school and your contribution to it.
The IIS is the best in Doha. We have the best teachers in Doha. We have very good students. We have achieved very good results — both in academics and extracurricular activities. We have been focusing on teaching Islamic values, our culture, school decorum, and local rules and regulations to have a good environment in the school. We pay more attention on students to groom them as better future citizens besides being successful students.
When I joined, the school was already doing well. I have however, added some new and better things. We have installed 100 new LED screens in classrooms for students. It was a costly project, but a necessary one. I have upgraded all school labs. I have had 100 new computers installed for the school and added a small auditorium for KG students with a play area.
Further, I have introduced students mentor mechanism; we have four mentors in every class selected from the students. The idea is to develop leadership qualities. The mentors are given different responsibilities and they interact with other students and monitor their activities. One of the four mentors will be the chief mentor every month in rotation.
I have formed discipline committees and placed discipline indicators both for students and teachers. There are also discipline targets that they have to achieve in a certain period of time.
Every Thursday, during the last 30 minutes of the school timings, students are asked to write about whatever they want to. They have to write, discuss, and explain their ideas. We display better ideas in the school assembly and the best ideas are published in the school magazine. The idea behind these activities is to inculcate writing skills and explain the ideas.
I also pay extra attention to extracurricular activities. Our school has been doing very well at the national level, especially in the last five years. We have won the Qatar National Award for National Day events in succession.
How do you select new teachers and train those in service?
I believe a good teacher is like the backbone of an institute. A school cannot excel without a better qualified, devoted and upgraded teacher.
We follow a transparent mechanism to hire a teacher. First of all, our HR staff will contact an aspiring candidate. Then, after initial working, the head of the relevant department will do the interview and oversee demonstration. Finally, the principal and the school management select a recommended candidate. We emphasise more on the class demonstration from aspiring teachers besides evaluating their qualifications and experience.
Once a teacher is a part of the school, we keep on providing training. I follow a policy of training, not terminating. We are all human and can learn new things. I always tell my teachers that if you are not updated, you are outdated. There are a lot of sources of knowledge for students nowadays. The teachers have to be updated and the school helps them in doing so.
What difference have you observed while being the principal in Qatar as compared to back home?
Well, there is a lot of difference when comparing with the environment and system in India. Here, we have more variety of students and teachers. We have students from 33 different nationalities in the school.
Parents are generally very busy here. They however, are very concerned about their children. They are very co-operative with the school. We also learn from the students at the same time.
What I have learned is to be calmer and more attentive. I have to listen to the problems of the students and teachers. The new experience has made me more patient and approachable.
The best thing here is the support and co-operation the education sector gets from the Qatari government. The land is given almost free with minimal rents for a school. Facilities like water and electricity are provided to the schools free of cost. The vision of the government is very clear. They want to turn Qatar into a knowledge campus. That is wonderful.
What are your future plans for the school?
I want to have a new and bigger campus for the school. We need a bigger auditorium. I want to further improve the quality of education in the school. I want my students to excel not only in examinations, but in their lives as useful citizens. I really want to have one-to-one teaching sessions in the school and I am working on the project.
It seems that all people want to have their children enrolled in the IIS. We are not costlier and, at the same time, we do not compromise on quality of education. I have been receiving a lot of applications for new admissions.
How do you see life in Qatar?
Firstly, I never thought or planned about coming to any of the Gulf countries. I have relatives working in other Gulf countries. My wife always encouraged me to look for an opportunity in the GCC. Finally, I got the chance.
Qatar is amazingly peaceful. The quality of life is very good. I'm very happy to be here with my family. The Qatari government has very clear vision for future development. I especially like their vision and commitment for education.
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