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OMAN

OMAN
A brief history:

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ISWK

The IndIan School WadI KabIr managemenT haS recenTly come under a cloud due To Several ISSueS concernIng The abSence of a prIncIpal, The frequenT reSIgnaTIonS of TeacherS, hIKe In feeS, hygIene STrIcTureS, poor SafeTy of STudenTS and STIfled voIceS of parenTS/ guardIanS, gIvIng rISe To a general conTenTIon ThaT all IS noT Well aT ISWK. T. a. ameerudheen TalKS To boTh SIdeS To fInd ouT The TruTh

one of the oldest schools in the sultanate, the indian school was established in 1939 as a Gujarati medium institution. in order to meet the challenges of the modern era, it became an english medium school in 1987, and came to be known as indian school Muttrah. the school was scattered in different locations until 1993. When it was moved to a larger and well-designed building, the school was renamed as indian school Wadi Kabir as per the instructions of the Directorate of the Ministry of education. the school was granted composite affiliation till Grade X for 1993, and the first batch of class X students appeared for All india senior secondary examination of the Cbse in March 1996. the school was upgraded to senior secondary school in 1999 and the first batch of class Xii students appeared for the board examination in 2001.
Parking chaos outside the school is the order of the day, and reckless driving by private school-bus drivers puts the safety of students in jeopardy everyday of the week. A R Rajkumar

major complains from parents

School managements reply

Fees have been hiked with out consulting the parents

Those who complain about the fees, should first, at least, check the facts. It will be held some time during the year New principal will assume office soon All staff was given a substantial increase in salary last year Adequate number of teachers are recruited every year It is as per CBSE guidelines

he officials at the Indian School Wadi Kabir, the oldest education hub in the Sultanate, never mince words while extolling the virtues of the teachers. A cursory look at the School website will reveal their intention. It reads thus: The best asset of the school are its teachers; they form its backbone. To keep them abreast with developments in the field of education, frequent in-house workshops are conducted A majority of students and their parents find the tall claims quite ironical. A group of parents, as well as a few teachers, shared their concerns with Hi Weekly at an informal meeting wherein they sought to impress upon the school management to brace itself and dedicate efforts towards improving a series of lapses which might ruin the prestige of the institution in the long run. Most said, they were sticking on with the school because they had no other option but the lackadaisical attitude of the school management was now beginning to go overboard. (All identities of parents/teachers have been withheld.) Referring to the vision and mission of the school, they wonder, how can a school that has been functioning without a principal for the last six months make such a claim? The school has a severe shortage of teaching staff in the primary, middle and senior levels, and it affects the quality of education, examination results and the overall reputation of the institution. For them, the schools poor performance in last Class X examination, conducted by Indias Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), last year, is a case in point. The paucity of staff means the school has to manage with available teachers, who are forced to attend 36 to 38 classes a week as against the normal practice of 26 to 28 classes. The management, however, maintains that adequate number of teachers is being recruited every year. Staff shortage could have affected

in a couple of classes due to the procedures in obtaining visa for teachers, Harshendu Shah, the president of the School Management Committee, mentions in a written reply to queries from Hi Weekly. The new principal will assume office soon. However, the absence of the principal does not mean that the school is not functioning properly. The managing committee ensures that all levels are being supervised by vice-principals and every aspect of education is well taken care of, he says. Up in arms The decision of the management committee to implement two consecutive fee hikes (in 2010 and 2012), too, has not gone down well among the parents. The tuition fees has been increased more than 40% from Kindergarten to Senior School levels in the last two academic years. It is a huge burden on the parents. Despite the hike, we havent seen any improvement in the quality of teaching, complains a parent. The increase in fees, it turns out, has not benefited the teachers too. According to a senior teacher, the motivation level among the teachers has hit rock bottom. We were proud to be part of a great educational institution. There was a time when we were regarded as the best in Oman. But I am sad to see the developments. Teachers do not have any motivation at all. We never get appreciation for our efforts. The management puts a heavy load on us. Obviously, it affects the quality of teaching, reveals a teacher. Shah, however, defends the fees hike, and says complainants should check the facts first. Like all other Indian schools, the ISWK charges fees for 12 months. However, it is collected in nine installments, therefore, what they pay appears higher. Some schools collect fees on a quarterly basis at the beginning of each quarter. Does that mean that their monthly fees are three times more? he asks.

Stretching it out? Though all the other Indian Schools in the capital region function from morning 7.20 am to 1.55 pm, ISWK has recently effected a change in timing from 7.10 am to 2.20 for the senior section, inviting displeasure of students and parents. They aver the increase in the timing do not give them any advantage. On the contrary, it is taking its toll on the children. The children reach home at 3pm after spending almost an hour in the long traffic snarls. By the time, it is time for private tuitions (as the quality of teaching in the school is not up to the mark). So they are often forced to skip lunch to reach there in time. It is affecting their health, notes a parent. We cannot understand why ISWK implemented the new timing when all the other Indian Schools in Muscat follow a studentfriendly schedule, adds another parent. Shah, however, argues that the school is just adhering to the CBSE guidelines. CBSE prescribes every school affiliated to it should work for more than 200 days or 1,200 hours. Of this, at least 30 weeks should be spent purely on instructional (teaching) work, exclusive of examinations and activities. Convenience/ wish of parents or students is therefore, not the only issue to be considered while deciding the working hours, he asserts, adding ISWK used to conduct activities on Thursdays. Now that the five-day working week has been introduced, we have had to adjust the activities on those days by increasing the school working hours of the senior school by half an hour. After all, dont the schools in India keep similar timings? Extra-curricular activities The absence of quality staff has affected the schools performance in events sports, quiz and other co-curricular activities too. Apart from some individual efforts, the school has failed to win laurels in recent inter-school competitions. To make things worse, those who win accolades never get appreciation from the school,

The school has always been doing well in the examinations and the overall performance of the students, this year included, is comparable with many other Indian schools. We are trying our best to improve our results.
President School Management Committee Indian School Wadi Kabir

complain parents. The school never encourages students to participate in extra-curricular activities. Our children have to remain mute spectators when students from other schools win inter-school competitions. It cannot go on like this, fumes a mother. The preparations for sporting competitions, too, are not done properly. The school does not have good physical education teachers. It is the reason for ISWKs poor show in inter-school competitions, said another parent. Every possible effort has been made to provide activities, sports as well as others. In fact, our students have been doing well in several interschool activities in the past, as well as this year. We have always had an adequate number of PE teachers, except this year, when three of them left at short notice, Shah says.

Infrastructure Many parents want quick action to control the chaos at the parking space in front of the school, especially the primary school. Children are seen crossing the road, unmindful of the school buses and other vehicles plying on it after the school closes for the day. Reckless driving is a major cause of concern. Children are equally careless. Accidents can happen at any time. There should be some monitoring system to control the situation, says a parent. The school staff monitors the flow of traffic at the primary school. However, they do not receive enough cooperation. In fact, they have to put up with a lot of impolite responses, Shah responds. The unhygienic toilets, too, bother many parents. It is not cleaned on time, forcing the students to use the dirty toilets. However, Shah asserts, There are certain

peak times, like the breaks when common facilities are used continuously and when cleaning has to be withheld for a while. But, we do have adequate cleaning staff. Parent-Management Meeting Most of the parents feel that they are deprived of an avenue to air their grievances, as the Parent-Teachers meeting hasnt happened so far this year. It is been three months since the new academic year began. But we havent heard a word from the authorities about the meeting. As we plan to raise these issues in it, the authorities are scared to convene it, says a parent. The parent management meeting allows the parents to meet the school management and discuss issues. However, Shah refutes the allegation. I am sure that it will be held soon, he assures.. ameerudheen@
hioman.com

No Parent Management Committee happened so far No principal for last six months Teachers are not happy with their salary Paucity of teaching staff

The new school timing affects the kids Monitor the traffic in front of the primary school Students have to use dirty toilets

School staff monitors the flow of traffic at the Primary School We have an adequate team to clean the school. Every possible effort has been made to provide activities, sports as well as others.

School performs badly in extracurricular activities

H arsHendu s HaH