Friday 19 / April / 2024
Muscat: Students who have successfully completed school have a duty to give back to the institution that helped them become who they are today. That’s the opinion of Mukund Manohar, president of the Indian School Muscat Alumni Association, that has organised many events through which the alumni of ISM can help the current generation of students.
“I believe Indian School Muscat is probably the largest co-educational school in the GCC, because we currently have about 9,500 students in school, and we have about 530 students sitting for their final school exams in class XII this year,” said Mukund, speaking exclusively to the Times of Oman.
“There are about 40,000 alumni from ISM all around the world, and all of us have a responsibility to give back to the school that has made us successful today.
“What we are trying to do at the moment is help the students who are currently at ISM not make the same mistakes we did, because we sometimes had to learn things the hard way, and we wouldn’t want to see the next generation face that hardship,” he stressed. “The purpose of this association is also to help the alumni connect and network with each other, so that all of us can create better opportunities for one another and provide help whenever required.”
Mukund, and his core team of Tanu Bheda, Aishwarya Hegde, and Nabeel Najeeb, are currently busy organising a football match on Friday, January 19, with the intention of creating a stronger alumni community that will be able to count on each other for support, as well as help the school in the future.
“The spirit and outpouring of support we have had for this event has been absolutely amazing,” revealed Mukund. “Football is easily the most popular game in Oman, and this is the first time we have organised such an event, because we wanted the ISM alumni to meet each other so that we can build a stronger community spirit. On the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the school, ISM installed a wonderful astroturf pitch that people will want to play on, so we are all eager for this to happen.
“Many of the people who will turn up are now parents themselves, and they will want to show their children where it is that they grew up and took their first steps on the path to success,” he added. “The friends you make in school are some of your best friends, and you can count on them all through life, so it is very important to foster this spirit. Many of us are what we are today because of what we learned in school, and not only must we not forget that, but we should always give back to our school as well. Many sponsors have come forward to support this event, and some of them are alumni of ISM themselves. They have not asked for any company promotions and are doing this personally, so that shows you the attachment they have to the school.”
The ISM Alumni Association has also set up a series of mentorship programmes to guide students on their career paths.
“We have alumni living and working all over the world now, and it is important that they give back to the next generation,” noted Mukund. “Whenever we come across successful engineers, doctors and architects, who either live in Muscat or have come here on a holiday, we set up interactive meetings with the students so that they can share their experiences. But it’s not just these conventional jobs that our alumni have; many of them are filmmakers, sound engineers and musicians, and we want students to follow their passions.
“If we’ve got students who want to go to a certain university, we put them in touch with someone who has been there, or currently lives there, so they can be of help,” he remarked.
“I went to university in the States, where alumni associations are so strong that they help out their alma mater by building libraries, new buildings and sports facilities. We want to help ISM in a similar manner. We also realise that there are, unfortunately, some parents who cannot afford school fees for their students, even if the school offers a fee reduction, so it is our duty to help them as well,” he stressed.
