With 2400 students, Indian school in Qatar sends message to parents announcing its closure
About 300 Karnataka students studying in the school face uncertainty over their academic future
Qatar: Doha Modern Indian School, Qatar (DMIS) on Wednesday sent a text messages to the parents of all its students that the current academic year (2019-2020) will be the last operational year of the school. The message urged the parents “to ensure places” for their kids in other schools in Qatar for academic year 2020-2021.
The message triggered confusion and panic among the parents of over 2400 students studying in the school including about 300 students from Karnataka. One of the main reason the parents of the students have expressed concern over the development is that lack of Indian Schools in Qatar. The parents are now worried how more than 2400 students will be accommodated in the limited number of Indian schools with their own limited seats all of a sudden.
Faisal G, a Qatar based Udupi businessman and father of a student studying in school told Vartha Bharati that a WhatsApp group has been created by parents and that they are planning to visit Indian Embassy in Doha and Supreme Education Counsel of Qatar with their grievances.
“It will be a difficult scenario if 2400 students are forced to switch schools altogether. We don’t have many Indian schools in Qatar. How can we expect those schools to accommodate 2400 students.” Faisal who is residing in Qatar from last nine years told Vartha Bharati over phone.
Asked if he contacted any of the officials of the school in person or over phone Faisal added that his attempts to meet Principal of the school did not work as the Principal refused to meet or comment on the issue.
“But I spoke to the PRO and Vice Principal of the school. All they told me was it was management’s decision due to the financial constraints. They did not detail me about the matter” Faisal said.
The message sent by the school however noted that it was “due to unavoidable reasons” that the school was closing.
The full text of message sent by the school to parents read “Dear Parent, We are constrained to inform you that due to unavoidable reasons, the last academic year of the School will be 2019-20 and hence you are requested to ensure places for your kids in other schools in Qatar for the academic year 2020-21. However we shall update you on this matter in the coming days in case of any development otherwise. We are extremely sorry for the inconvenience caused to you and this message is sent to you as an advance intimation.”
The parents of students studying in class 9 and 11 are left into a jeopardy as the students are registered with Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) and they have to complete their academics under CBSE. With no other options left, the last hope for the parents of these students lies in their visits to Indian Embassy in Doha and their meeting with Supreme Education Counsel of Qatar.
Despite attempts of Vartha Bharati to contact officials of the school, they remained unavailable to comment on the matter.
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Kerala: 'Kallakkadal' red alert revised to orange warning
Thiruvananthapuram (PTI): The Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services on Saturday withdrew a 'red alert' issued for 'Kallakkadal' in the coastal areas of Kerala and the south Tamil Nadu coast and revised it to an 'orange alert'.
'Kallakkadal' is a phenomenon of sudden sea swells causing rough waves in coastal areas.
As part of the phenomenon, the low-lying areas of the Kerala coast are likely to experience rough sea and sea surge due to extremely strong waves of 0.5 meters to 1.5 meters till 11.30 pm on Sunday, the INCOIS said.
The low-lying coastal areas of south Tamil Nadu are also likely to experience a similar situation and high waves of 0.5 meters to 1.8 metres may cause sea surge there till tomorrow night, the agency warned.
INCOIS, the central agency that issues weather warnings for fishermen in the country, advised people to safely moor their fishing vessels in the harbour.
Authorities advised people to continue their caution and avoid trips to the beach and completely stay away from activities at sea.
The term 'Kallakkadal' literally means a sea that comes suddenly like a thief.
INCOIS has earlier said that the swells result from strong winds in the southern part of the Indian Ocean at certain times, and that they occur suddenly without any particular indications or warning which is why it is named 'Kallakkadal'.
