Thursday 28 / November / 2024
Muscat: Indian Schools in Oman cater to the educational needs of more than 45,000 students. The Indian School Board ensures that every child from the Indian Community is given admission and quality education at a very affordable fee.
The Board in its efforts to enhance the quality of teaching and learning in Indian Schools has been focusing on strengthening the capabilities of schools through a three-dimensional approach i.e., Infrastructure, Students, and Staff.
As far as the infrastructure is concerned, the Board has initiated several infrastructural projects in the recent past in almost every school. Starting with constructing additional classrooms to increase the capacity of the school and to reduce the students’ strength in each class. These initiatives include renovations of libraries, washrooms, laboratories, sports grounds, etc., to ensure that the teaching and learning environments are conducive for students and staff alike. The Board takes a panoramic view of the overall structural development of the schools while the School Management Committees take responsibility for ensuring the successful implementation of the same.
Apart from developing the physical infrastructure, the Board also accords equal importance to the organizational structures that would lead to the optimum utilization of various resources in the school. Towards this end, the Board introduced the preparation of a School Development Plan for each school by involving the opinions of all stakeholders. This School Development Plan will enhance the competitiveness of each school by having a forward-looking direction toward ensuring quality education across all schools. Under the School Development Plan, each school will reemphasize its Vision and Mission while setting objectives that would help it to remain sustainable for the next 4-5 years. All schools are currently undergoing this exercise to chalk out a different strategic plan to achieve a greater objective of providing quality education to students.
Another dimension that the Board is focusing on is the constant improvement in the quality of the teaching fraternity. Though the CBSE stipulated training programs are mandatory for teachers to undergo, the Board takes extra initiatives to ensure that additional training programs could further enhance the competitiveness of our workforce. The Board recently took the initiative to conduct special training programs for the teachers to empower them to function effectively to meet the requirements of the NEP 2020. Two such training programs were held recently where 700 teachers from different Indian Schools attended the professional development program by CBSE empaneled facilitators. The program was streamed live for those teachers who could not attend the program physically. A similar program is being organized for the admin staff of Indian Schools on Effective Business Communication and Office Etiquette which will include hands-on training on written and spoken communication, time management, emotional intelligence, integrity, and confidentiality. The main objective of this program is to enhance the interpersonal skills of the non-teaching staff which will help them to deal with all stakeholders effectively, especially the parents.
Another step initiated by the Board is to equip the schools with technological assistance for teaching and learning. Towards this end, the Board helped the schools to set up their own Virtual Learning Environment which helped the teachers to carry out many of their professional assignments effectively. It also helps the students to remain updated in their learning process which could be retrieved and referred at any given point of time. With the advancement of technology, education has become borderless and globally accessible. ISO VLE (Indian Schools Oman Virtual Learning Environment) is one of the most notable e-learning tools that enhances the learning experience by helping teachers of Indian Schools in planning, teaching, and assessing the learning progress of students.
‘Synergy’ is another biennial program organized by the Board of Directors during which the Members of the School Management Committees and Principals across the Indian Schools in Oman gather to brainstorm, recommend, and pool their innovative ideas for the overall development of Schools. During the ‘Synergy’ held last year, Schools were equipped with the development of Strategic Plans for the schools to address various facets of education. This Strategic Planning for SMC will not only ensure a systematic approach to governance of the schools but also bring in accountability and transparency in the management of schools.
The third dimension that the Board focuses on is the systematic overall growth of our students. To ensure that our students get the best attention from the teachers, the Board has prohibited private tuition by Indian School teachers. Schools have been instructed to ensure that the teachers do not get into such activities that would hamper the progress of our students as abstinence from private tuition enables the teachers to give undivided attention to the students. Schools have been asked to ensure compliance to this Board’s directive which will have far-reaching influence on the students’ growth.
Board of Directors of Indian Schools in Oman conducts Psychometric Assessment for Career Path Selection periodically to the students of Indian schools in Oman completely free of cost to get a better understanding of what career options is suited to them, their personality and skills. Designed by psychologists, these assessments provide students clear ideas on choosing the right course of studies and career. The outcome of this test not only helps to improve key skills but also identify area that needs attention. After taking this assessment, students receive a comprehensive report about their abilities and aptitudes along with recommended career options. Eventually this helps the students to choose the right stream after Class X, which is one of the most important decisions in their career.
To achieve all-round personality development of students, the Board has initiated several collaborative activities such as Indian Schools Talent Fest (ISTF), Indian Schools Film Fest (ISFF), Avenir (Career Guidance Program), STAI (Science, Technology And Innovation), ISQUIZ, Debate, and Elocution Competitions, etc. All these programs are aimed at encouraging collaboration, communication, technology, and critical thinking – the 21st century skills for holistic development. The Tele-counselling facility of Indian Schools is one of a kind that provides emotional and psychological support to our students.
In addition to the above initiatives of the Board, the Schools have come up with holistic development programs as per the directives of the Board to uplift the educational and infrastructural facilities so that every child from our schools shall undergo transformative learning and be equipped with the knowledge, skills, and well-being to find their identity and purpose in life.
