RIYADH, 13 January 2003 — A well-known non-resident Indian, who runs three Indian schools in Kuwait, has been granted license by the Ministry of Education in Riyadh to start an international school here.
This was announced at a press conference by Thomas Chandy, chairman and managing director of the Indian schools, who said the Al-Alia Indian Central School, due to open in the next academic year, would follow the CBSE syllabus in its curriculum.
The school will be located in the Al-Aziziah district in south Riyadh and cater to the needs of children in the Manfouha, Ghubaira and adjacent areas of the capital. Registration of students will begin by the end of this month.
“We selected the site at Al-Aziziah, near the cement factory, because our feasibility study showed that there was an acute shortage of schools in that area. Moreover, an estimated 3,000 registrations for admission are pending,” said Chandy, who arrived here yesterday from Kuwait.
The Indian businessman, who hails from the south Indian state of Kerala, also disclosed plans for setting up similar schools in Jeddah, Dammam and Al-Qassim. The Riyadh school will offer classes from LKG to V standard in the first year leading up to the 12th grade within three years. The medium of instruction will be English, although Arabic, Islamic studies, Saudi history and culture will also be taught in line with the ministry’s requirements.
