“In the past, education was all about gathering and learning information, learning as much as you can, learning as fast as you can,” she said. “That is no longer the case. The focus now is on teaching children about the tools that are available to access information and to come up with creative solutions through innovation.”
Al-Edrisi, who is the chief executive of the Eastern Forum Company for Advancement and Development Ltd., was speaking as a chief guest at an educational exhibition called Spectra 2010 organized recently by the Girls Section of the International Indian School in Dammam (IISD).
Addressing the girls, she said: “You are lucky to have these kinds of educational institutions. When I was young girl growing up here in Saudi Arabia there were no schools for girls. It was the passion of my father for education that allowed me to pursue my higher studies abroad and come back and to serve my country. For that I am very grateful to my parents.”
She said India has earned a pride of place among the nations of the world because of its focus on knowledge. “We are deeply impressed by India and its glorious tradition of multi-faith coexistence. The richness and diversity of the Indian culture is fascinating,” she said.
Talking about education, she said this is an era of knowledge-based economy “where innovation is at the heart of the global economy ... where the human mind is the most valued asset.”
Mubarak Bubshait of the Ministry of Education in the Eastern Province hailed the school’s performance and described it as the second best school in the region. “The first is of course the American School in Dhahran. The next best is the Indian school,” he told Arab News on the sidelines of the exhibition.
School Chairman John Thomas praised teachers and students efforts in putting up some spectacular exhibits. “Their creativity is fascinating,” he said.
According to IISD Principal E.K. Mohammed Shaffe, the school has maintained its tradition of being the best institution. “Through such exhibitions, we provide our students with a platform to come up with innovative gadgets and solutions. And that is exactly what they have done during Spectra 2010,” said Shaffe.
Principal In Charge of IISD Girls Section Lt. Col. J.A. Rocque was the real force behind the success of the exhibition. “We all worked as a team. These are highly talented students. Given an opportunity they proved how good they can be at creating amazing stuff. At the end of the day, we draw satisfaction when we see accomplished members of the community acknowledge the contribution of students and teachers,” said Lt. Col. Rocque.
He said more than 4,000 exhibits, including working models, were on display. “They included live experiments and more than 2,000 girls participated in the exhibition. The displays covered all major subject areas such as science and technology, IT and computer science, mathematics, social sciences and humanities, languages and literature, commerce and management, biology and biotechnology,” he said, adding that a special section depicted Saudi Arabian Culture and Islamic Studies.
The school authorities praised the efforts of Dhanalaxmi Ramanujam, Tasneem Munir Ahmed, Memoona Tabassum and Padmaja Chandran. The exhibition drew the parents of almost 7,000 students at the IISD Girls Section.
