Saudi Gazette DAMMAM — Former Chief Minister of South Indian state of Kerala Oommen Chandy accompanied by his colleague former Minister of Culture, NRI affairs, K.C. Joseph, visited Al-Muna International School in Dammam and praised the high standard of education in the Indian and CBSE schools in the Kingdom. The former Chief Minister and K.C. Joseph were welcomed by the managing director of the school TP Mohammed, school Principal Mammo KP, Vice Principal Abdul Khader, Director Abdul Latheef, staff members and school students. In an informal interaction with the school management, staff members and students, Chandy said that during his visit to the Kingdom, he visited several schools and found that all the schools following CBSE syllabus were maintaining high standards and were in no way behind schools in India. "You maintain good discipline, with high level of awareness and excellent results." He said that during his visit he was told about shortage of teaching staff in various schools as well as the premises problem. He assured the school management that he will take up the issue with the Indian mission in Saudi Arabia and back home with other relevant authorities. He lauded the efforts of Central Board for Secondary Education, New Delhi for its effort in spreading syllabus relevant to Indian education system beyond India. The former chief minister called upon students to work hard and express themselves as model students. "You are not our future but also ambassador of our country," he said and added: "In foreign land you carry responsibility of proving that India is the best." He thanked the government of Saudi Arabia for providing basic infrastructure and facilities to students and Indian community. Chandy and Joseph visited several schools in Jeddah, Dammam and Riyadh and also attended several felicitation functions organized by Kerala community in their honor. In every function both the leaders urged people to respect and follow the laws of Saudi Arabia. "You all are ambassador of your country and should lead by example. Respect the local laws," he said. He said that those residing in Saudi Arabia with irregular documents should avail of the amnesty period and leave the country gracefully. He said that he and his colleague Joseph had lengthy discussions with the officials of deportation centers and higher Saudi officials who expressed their desire to fully cooperate with those who come forward voluntarily and go back to their homeland. Both the leaders also held long discussion at the Indian Embassy and the Indian Consulate General and urged the officials to expedite issuance of emergency certificate and provide all assistance.
