Talmiz Ahmad remarked that pupils studying here should receive the best possible education, that would prepare them to face the challenges of the 21st century. Ahmad is the patron of Indian schools in Saudi Arabia, and he was addressing hundreds of parents gathered at the Annual Day function at the International Indian School, Riyadh (IISR), last week. The envoy's emotional speech drew seemingly unending applause from parents each time he touched on issues and challenges in the fast changing world scenario that would directly affect the education of their wards. Ahmad raised serious questions the Indian community would face in the long-term, particularly the educational concern of their children enrolled at various international Indian schools in Saudi Arabia. He also remarked that society today is a technology-based one. “It is a society that requires our children to compete in the outside world on the basis of technological achievement, so that book-learning and passing of exams is secondary compared to having the latest possible technological skills, particularly with regards to information technology (IT), biotechnology, nanotechnology and various other fields, which are frontier sciences of this century,” he said. He said the greatest challenge Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) are facing would be to ensure that every Indian child seeking admission is admitted into an educational institution, and once admitted, he/she has access to the best possible education, teaching and facilities. He added that the Indian schools in the Kingdom are receiving applications for new admissions from some thousands of children every academic year, which in most cases, goes beyond the capacity of schools to accommodate. The easiest thing, therefore, would be to turn new applicants away and freeze admission, which Ahmad said will have horrendous consequences for the Indian community's presence here. There is also no guarantee even if the mother and child go back to India they would be able to get access to affordable quality education of the kind Indian community schools are providing in Saudi Arabia. The second concern he focused on was regarding teachers. According to sources, a number of qualified and experienced teachers have already left international community schools and joined other privately-run schools for better pay. The envoy raised a series of questions in this regard while addressing the parents asking them: “Can we say to ourselves that we have given our teachers the respect and the reverence that is their due?” He added that the Indian tradition dictates that teachers be held in high esteem and called “gurus” and “in many traditions, the morning begins with saluting them”. “Are we doing that? Can you have the best possible teachers in the world and at rates that are less than in India today? Is there an area where you have to show savings? Will you not get the best out of a teacher, if you have given the teacher the dignity and the respect he/she deserves?” he asked. Ahmad said the growing number of children seeking admission at Indian schools in Saudi Arabia, the up-grade of emoluments and other benefits to teachers and massive expansion with regard to facilities are the issues that need immediate attention. He said the Higher Board, that comprises of a three-member team and the chairpersons of managing committees from various Indian schools in Saudi Arabia, have deliberated for a very long time “and I believe they have come up with proposals that are in the long-term interest of our institutions”. “They will provide the best possible exposure to the young children of our community; they will keep families together,” he added. At the start of his speech, Ahmad spoke about how the educational facilities were set up in different Saudi cities by individuals in the early period of Indian workers migration to the Kingdom in 1980s, which he described as the pioneering phase. The second phase has, during that last 20 years, witnessed massive expansion in the number of children admitted, reflecting the increased preference for Indians at different levels in the Kingdom, he explained. The third phase, he said was a massive upgrade of skills the Indian schools will offer children. “There is an excitement in the air,” he added. “We must move beyond our own self-centered and selfish interest and concerns and become part of this wonderful large adventure. This is what the future is beckoning us to be part of.”
