JEDDAH, 14 July 2004 — Delhi Public School (DPS), which runs more than 120 schools in 12 countries, has announced plans for schools in Jeddah. It plans to set up a CBSE school from September and an international school offering the international baccalaureate next year.
The announcement was made at the formal DPS International Jeddah school launch ceremony, presided over by Indian Consul General Syed Akbaruddin, on Monday night.
Emphasizing the importance of quality education to meet today’s needs, Akbaruddin said the dramatic changes in all spheres of human activity in the past century, especially in the last few decades, were all brought about by education.
He recalled how Haj pilgrims took five days to reach Makkah from Jeddah centuries ago, which is now possible within an hour or so. “Within a couple of decades, the IT revolution has made the typewriter obsolete,” he said. He paid a tribute to DPS for maintaining high standards. “DPS is a symbol of excellence,” Akbaruddin said.
Welcoming the school here, the consul general said: “This is a good option to the Indian community. So far, the only option available was International Indian School. DPS is offering another option and not a competitor to IISJ,” he said.
He referred to the efforts that continued since Salman Khurshid’s efforts to launch DPS schools in the Kingdom. “Since then I kept hoping that a DPS school would open here during my term of office,” the consul general said.
He hoped that the school would rapidly grow like the IISJ, which over the last 35 years has grown into a massive operation with over 9,000 students.
The school — Al Falah International DPS — is commencing its operations at the old Okaz building in Al-Rehab district from Sept. 4. Registration for the academic year 2004-05 for classes from pre-nursery to VII under the CBSE pattern, begins next month.
“We’ll have separate sections for boys and girls,” Narendra Kumar, chairman of the New Delhi-based DPS, said in his speech.