The
school, being positioned as a modern Indian school with international
facilities and resources for academic and extra curricular activities, has
already started admissions offering the HYPERLINK
"http://www.cbsei.com/" CBSE international curriculum.
This was stated by Nadeem Tarin, managing director of the
Dunes' board of directors, who was speaking on the occasion of India's Republic
Day. A prominent Indian expatriate Tarin, who has promoted several schools
globally, said the mission of the Dunes is "to enhance the skills of
students to the highest level of competence and thereby make the world an
emancipated and enlightened place."
Ibrahim H. Al-Quayid, chairman of Dunes board of
directors, also seized the opportunity to congratulate Saudi and Indian
nationals on the occasion of India's Republic Day. Al-Quayid. A prominent Saudi
academician, Al-Quayid said the main objective of the school is to create an
educational facility in Saudi Arabia that provides the student a comprehensive
system of education to help him or her develop a well-rounded personality and
grow into a smart, confident young person.
Plans are afoot to establish several such schools in the
Kingdom, said Tarin when asked about the future expansion plans of the
educational network of Dunes. Spelling out the salient features of the new
school, he said the school is enrolling students of all nationalities as per
the rules of the Ministry of Education governing foreign schools in Saudi
Arabia. Tarin said the process of enrolment of students from kindergarten
classes to VII standard have started with a plan to add one higher class every
year.
He said an integrated teaching and learning process forms
the core of the curriculum of DIS, where students will also be taught
invaluable skills of collaborative learning and independent research. Tarin
said the DIS faculty is composed of highly experienced Indian, European and
American teachers. The school will mainly provide education as per Indian
syllabus, but will create separate facilities for students of other
nationalities within the framework of the rules and regulations of the Saudi
Ministry of Education.
He said the Dunes school in Alkhobar could boast to have
a large spacious building with modern classrooms, auditorium and other
necessary facilities. The classrooms of the DIS, he said, are equipped with
multimedia and graphic teaching tools. A professional school management system
of world standard is already in place to evaluate the ranking of the DIS, which
has several facilities like a well stocked library, ample parking area and a
cafeteria for students, teachers, parents and visitors.
The school, which has a built-up area of 18,000 square
meters, also boasts of huge sports facilities with full-fledged track and field
for soccer, cricket and many other outdoor games. An air-conditioned squash
court, which is rarely found in the school campuses in the region and a
swimming pool, are prominent features of the DIS today, said Tarin. This is in
addition to indoor sports facilities that include badminton, basketball,
volleyball and kho-kho, said the DIS managing director.
He said the school has a full-fledged gymnasium, table
tennis facilities, billiards and carom sets besides a whole range of games and
activities like lectures, leisure programs and picnics, which will be organized
from time to time. Asked about the promoters of the DIS, Tarin said the school
would be run by a board of directors chaired by Al-Quayid, who is a member of
the National Society for Human Rights and an elected member of the Riyadh
Municipality.
A highly experienced educationist D. Manon, who had the
distinction to serve as principal of Army School, Jammu, and Singhania School
Churu in Rajasthan (India), has been appointed as DIS principal. Manon, who
holds a Master's degree and a bachelor of education (B.Ed), has two decades of
experience in the field of education under his belt. Tarin himself is the
managing director, while Sultan Salman Al-Terais Sadey, a prominent
businessman, is the DIS' director.
A well-known academician S.U. Rahman is the honorary
director and another well-known management expert Amjad Khan, who holds a
management degree from India's Aligarh Muslim University, is the DIS director
for finance and administration. The school, Tarin said, has a four-member
advisory board composed of top-notch academic experts and men of letters.
Former Principal of the Doon School Shomie Das, who had the distinction of
being tutor of Prince Charles, is a member on the DIS Advisory Board.
Nigat Shamsi, who worked as reader and director of two
premier educational institutions in Dehradun, in north India, is another member
on the DIS advisory board with Linda Amin, principal of International Programs
School in Alkhobar and Anna Marry Amudi, who holds a doctorate in education
from America's Minnesota University. The DIS campus in Alkhobar is located on
Old Airport Road that connects driving school and Dhahran Mall, close to Doha
Bridge.
