An independent panel of parents has ranked the Riyadh-based Delhi Public School as one of the top schools of the Middle East region. Along with eight other schools, DPS Riyadh received a perfect score of 10 out of 10 in this year’s report of this panel. “I’m very proud of the accomplishments of our staff and our students,” said Nadeem A. Tarin, chairman of the DPS management committee, while speaking on the occasion of India’s independence day, here yesterday.
“We work very hard together as a team to ensure our students are successful with their learning and excel in every field,” said Tarin. DPS Riyadh has a tradition of academic success, not achieved by many other schools in this region. “There is a culture here of high expectations and excellence, and we don’t let students turn in poor quality work. They have to keep doing something until it is the very best that it can be,” said the DPS chief.
To this end, DPS ranks as the best schools worldwide. They are known as the biggest chain of educational institutions, having more than 125 branches all over India and abroad. DPS is recognized for their progressive approach and commitment to quality education. “While the management board is happy that the school is getting recognition, the staff is still striving in their pursuit of excellence,” said Dr. Ibrahim Al-Quaiyid, chairman of the board of directors.
Referring to the achievements of the school, Akhtar Hussain Siddiqui, a member of the DPS board, said he hopes to make DPS Riyadh as one of the best schools in the world. Siddiqui said “We aspire to light the lamp of knowledge in the Kingdom also. Apart from providing high-level education, we aim to help build the overall personality of our students, and inculcate in them the values that are an essential ingredient of a human being.”
“With the above aim, we have established a branch of DPS in Riyadh with the sole purpose to fulfill our social responsibility,” added Dr. Athar Farooqui, DPS director. The school is currently housed in a sprawling campus with playgrounds and separate sections for boys and girls. The school has its own transport facility, while it offers an option of day boarding facility. The school has a well-qualified and trained team of committed teachers with ample experience.
An experienced and dedicated principal, who has been associated with the DPS system and has successfully established a number of DPS schools, currently heads the school. “And, we are on expansion course as we have already acquired land for building a new campus,” said Farooqui, adding that the school is in process of taking approvals from different government agencies for building new facilities.
The new campus, the school officials said, will be equipped with state-of-the-art technology including all audio-visual tools to teach students that would provide a difference. Despite massive achievements, still a lot to be done at DPS. The school is trying to set up a world-class professional coaching facility for medical and engineering entrance examinations. In fact, the school is about to create a replica of a high-class study center, currently functioning in a central university of India.
“It was not possible for us to set up such facilities without the continuous support of the community,” said DPS officials. Parents support is always vital and DPS thanks one and all for their support and mainly their trust, on which DPS Riyadh is growing day by day. “The DPS had faced many problems since its inception but the support and added encouragement given to us by the Indian community has strengthened our will and power to cope with the situation,” said another board member.
Before summer holidays, the school faced a serious problem but the school and its faculty members did not allow themselves to succumb to the problems or to deviate from the mission. “Hence, let me congratulate our teaching and nonteaching staff, who stood in unison during the crisis,” said Siddiqui. As far as the achievements of the school are concerned, it is important to note that a one-day workshop was conducted for the English teachers by James Jackson of the British Council.
Another weeklong teachers’ workshop was organized by DPS Gurgaon under the supervision of Delhi Public School Society for the teachers of DPS Riyadh recently. So far as students are concerned, they been doing well on all fronts. In the Inter-School English Debate Competition held in Jeddah in Nov. 2006, the students of DPS Riyadh participated and performed remarkably well. Not only this, the DPS Riyadh took a lead in organizing Inter School Debate Competition recently. All CBSE schools in Riyadh participated with their teams in the debate contest in which the IISR won the ‘Rolling Annual Trophy’ in senior segment, while Al-Aalia School won the trophy in junior category. Now plans are afoot to organize an Inter-School Quiz Competition in the near future, said A. J. Shiromani, DPS principal. The DPS Riyadh has also been on the forefront to felicitate dignitaries and learn from their experience. The DPS Riyadh also organized a seminar for minority education with the help of an Indian NGO recently.