School Bans Egyptian Girl for wearing Head Scarf
Riyadh - January 26 2003 An international school in Jeddah, which has boys and girls of varying nationalities on its rolls, has banned an Egyptian Muslim girl for wearing a head scarf. The girl, Lujain, was banned from Jeddah Prep and Grammar School and was forced to look for another in order to continue her studies.She said that other girls wearing head scarves are forced to remove them every morning before entering the school. Tarek Mohammed Muneer, Lujain’s father, said he was surprised when the director of the school denied his daughter entry to the school last Ramadan. the school administrative secretary said the school policy is a total ban on head scarves. She added, “Any girl wearing a head scarf will not be allowed to enter the school.”
Indian School Board Meets After eight Months
Members vow to solve internal problems within the community
MUSCAT - December 29, 2002 After a gap of eight months the first meeting of the Board of Indian schools was held here on 28th December under the chairmanship of Sandeep Arora, whose appointment was earlier disputed by many powerful members of the Indian community using their influence and money power. In the last meeting of the board for the year 2002, it is decided that the unhappy course of events witnessed in the recent past would not be repeated at any cost and majority of the board members vowed to prevent any individuals or group of members from "hijacking" the entire board. Such hijacking cause unnecessary disruption of the normal board functioning. Contrary to misleading reports, Sandeep Arora will continue to remain the board chairman for the full term of his appointment. It is also decided that despite any problems, the board should function smoothly.
The presence of there new board members was another notable feature of the Indian school board meeting. Mrs. Manjula Ramadas, Mrs. Deepa Raman and Mr. Apoorva Mehta are the new members on the board. While Mr. Mehta represents the Hindu Mahasabha in the board, others replaced the ousted board members. It is also learned that the patron has no special interest in promoting or demoting any board member. "He came to Muscat without any intention to promote or demote any special individuals or business groups. He has taken some action to serve the Indian community interests. In future also he does not have any specific individuals or groups to promote," said Indian school sources.
Even though Sandeep was selected by the Indian school patron, the Indian Ambassador as the board chairman after the removal of R.N.Parikh, the former chairman, he was not allowed to convene any meetings. Even though the patron appointed Sandeep as the Indian school board chairman, the former chairman and his supporters challenged the ambassador's authority and even filed a case in the Delhi High Court against him. Lot of artificial roadblocks has been created to affect the smooth functioning of Indian schools and Indian school board. Two earlier attempts to convene a board meeting by the ousted chairman could not succeed as the other members did not attend the meeting.
As a symbolic gesture of healthy cooperation between the board and the patron, the Indian Ambassador K.M.Meena addressed the board meeting for a short while and introduced the new members. The patron spoke to the board members about his perspectives on the general education policy to be followed in Indian community schools for the betterment and benefit of all Indian citizens. He also urged the board members to cooperate with each other and find amicable settlement for internal disputes within the community itself.
It is not the first time that the patron is addressing the Indian school board. In the past whenever the patron felt it necessary to address the board he used to meet the members. In one occasion in the past, when some board members were misleading the patron by manipulating the minutes in their favour, a former Ambassador used to attend the board meetings.
The board meeting, which was held under the leadership of Arora discussed the status of the new Indian community school in Seeb, which is functioning quite satisfactorily. KM understands that a major item on the board agenda was the detailed report presented by an adhoc committee about the school fees and building construction plan. The tendering process is at the final stage, but a short listed party with sufficient land in the area has quoted an "inflated rate" for the project. Since the Indian school Seeb is a newborn baby and the people in the area cannot afford to pay very high fees, it is desirable to keep the building cost and the monthly rent outgo to the minimum possible level. Inflated rent and artificial middle men are the main reason for the financial burden facing many Indian schools in Oman. It is also feared that a building lobby is working overtime to delay the construction of Seeb School, which is expected to accommodate nearly 2,000 students in the next academic year. Many big people who have been keen to get the building contract are also thinking that if the project can be delayed , the patron's term will be over and a new favoruable ambassador could undo whatever is done by K.M.Meena.
KM New Year Resolution
India is a democratic country, which respects the interest of all sections of society. There are different institutions and pillars of democracy in India, preventing the concentration of power in a few hands. Similarly the Indian community in the Gulf should function under democratic norms and break all artificial privileges enjoyed by a few big members. It is high time the community members lived in peace and harmony. KM hopes that the school patron the Indian Ambassador, the Indian School Board, the individual school management committees, principals, teachers, students and their parents will live peacefully and work for the educational advancement of our next generation. Let the big members of the Indian community realize that money power, vasta, political influence, police/CID intimidation or other high-handed methods will not help them in the long run. Let this message be our New Year resolution. Do you agree? Similarly the patron will work for the betterment of the Indian community, as he did in the past, without creating an impression that he is all out to sack board members for silly reasons. He has been doing a good job for the Indian community, which unfortunately attracted lot of opposition and criticism from the affected parties. A losing gambler puts in money money. Let there be more transparency and less secrecy about the board meetings and other aspects of Indian community life.
Plan to introduce Slow Leaners School for Indian community Students..Watch this space
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