Hassan Cheruppa
OUTGOING Indian Consul General B.S. Mubarak has urged the Indian academic community to work hard and deliver the best results, regardless of the acts of disgruntled elements, who may turn against any reputable institution to tarnish its image.
Mubarak was addressing a farewell party organized by the managing committee and the academic core committee of the International Indian School Jeddah (IISJ) at the school’s conference hall on Thursday.
“You have to be honest to the core and whenever any complaints coming against you, you have to respond with facts and figures. If you do this, all conspiracies will fall apart and people will realize that you are the best who can deliver,” he said.
Sharing his unique experiences at the helm of the Indian mission’s Haj operation, Mubarak said: “During the Haj operation, many members of the Indian mission drew my attention to complaints from some pilgrims. Being the team leader, I consoled them and motivated them by saying not to bother at all about this but to work hard and deliver the best outcome,” he said, while commending the IISJ Principal Syed Masood Ahmed for following the same strategy in taking the school to greater heights of academic excellence.
“Besides the management committee, the IISJ has a wonderful principal who can absorb all the pressure,” he said.
Mubarak praised the fantastic role being played by Ahmed in leading the IISJ team in providing quality education to Indian children in and around Jeddah.
He thanked the IISJ staff for making their institution a role model for other schools in the region. “I used to tell other schools that you have an example in IISJ, which with more than 12,000 students, is running with the kind of efficiency that can be emulated.”
Mubarak shared his feeling of deep attachment to the school, saying he had enjoyed every moment of his interaction with the children, whose education standards are “amazing”.
“I had so many occasions to interact with the children and teachers. My memories of IISJ will remain ever green as I am satisfied that things are perfectly OK at the institution,” he said.
“After the consulate general, IISJ is the only institution that keeps the Indian flag flying in Jeddah, and it continues to impart not only education but also the culture, constitution, geography and history and everything else of our great nation into the hearts and minds of our children.”
Mubarak hoped that the fourth campus for IISJ would soon become a reality so as to accommodate all the students seeking admission. “There are 8,000 students in the waiting list and I hope that every one of them would get admission with the expansion of the school’s facilities. We did our best for the school expansion, and the new ambassador was impressed with the efforts being made by the management committee but he has some reservations, which he had shared with us. These issues will be addressed and the school will expand, after resolving all these issues in the very near future,” Mubarak said.
Referring to the objections raised from some corners, Mubarak said: “When the issue of the expansion of school came up, many people discouraged us and then I honestly told them that this school, which started with five children, would have remained with the same number of children if the school’s founders did not work hard for its expansion.”
Mubarak said the IISJ is a great institution and the service it provides to the community is really great. “It should be expanded and has to gain more strength to continue providing better services to our children,” he said, while urging the management committee to maintain their unity at any cost. “Destruction of an institution takes only one moment but building such an organization is a tough task and the parents and the community have an equal responsibility to see the school flourish. We don’t want to see politics entering in the school’s functioning,” he added.
Mubarak said he hoped that he could continue serving the community with his new assignment at the headquarters of the Ministry of External Affairs. “I am thrilled to go back to New Delhi as I had been abroad away from our roots for 13 years. The ministry has recognized the hard work that I had put in and so given me a wonderful and crucial division within the ministry.”
In their speeches, Management Committee Chairman Abdul Raziq and Principal Ahmed thanked Mubarak for his constant support to the school. They also praised him as a diplomat with humble and down-to-earth behavior who is accessible to all members of the community.
Management committee members, Dr. Najeeb Qais Ammar, vice principal of the Boys’ Section; Farhathunnisa, vice principal of the Girls’ Section, headmasters and headmistresses of other sections also attended the function.
