Dubai: A new CBSE (Central Board of Secondary Education) school that will be ready by April 2011 is expected to ease the severe seat shortage in Indian schools.
The International Indian High School coming up in the Dubai Silicon Oasis, a few kilometres off Emirates Road, will be able to take up to 3,000 students and hopes to provide an atmosphere equal to or better than the present Indian High School (IHS) campus in Oud Metha, which was established in 1961.
Construction is under way at the new site and the foundation stone was formally laid yesterday by Shaikh Ahmad Bin Saeed Al Maktoum, President of Dubai Civil Aviation Authority, Chairman and CEO of Emirates Group, and chairman of the Dubai Silicon Oasis Authority.
The new campus is being built at a cost of Dh100 million and will feature state-of-the-art facilities such as an amphitheatre, well-equipped IT department, wireless campus, activity room, gymnasium, swimming pool and a temperature-controlled indoor sports complex and virtual classrooms and smart boards.
Mohan Valrani, honorary chairman of the board of trustees of IHS, said the school will offer the new international curriculum introduced by the CBSE with the academic focus extended to IT, research and subjects such as nanotechnology. "The school will be ideal for those in the community who do not want to send their children back to India for higher studies. The curriculum is suitable for students to pursue their higher studies here in the UAE or abroad," said Valrani.
He added that the new school will also be non-profit and will offer quality education at an affordable price. "I can say that the fees will be a little higher than the existing IHS fee, but it will be lower than most of the other schools in Dubai," said Valrani, who is also senior vice-chairman and managing director of the Al Shirawi Group of Companies.
Parents who spoke to Gulf News said it is great news that there would be more seats at least next year for hundreds of parents who have to run from pillar to post to secure admission for their children.
"I took part in the lottery conducted by the IHS in January, but was not lucky enough to get a kindergarten admission for my daughter. I am so happy that there will be a new school next year because I do not want to go through the same trauma for my younger child who is one year old now," said Jagateesh Sharma, a father from Dubai.
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