The Indian High School, Dubai
The Indian High School is a CBSE-affiliated Indian school in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. It was established in 1961 to provide education to the children of Indian expatriates, the first expatriate educational institution there. The school is one of a small number of not-for-profit schools in the emirate, and is rated "VERY GOOD" by United Arab Emirates's (KHDA). It is the oldest, largest and the leading educational institution in the Gulf region. History. The Indian High School was founded in 1961 by Maghanmal Pancholia with a view of providing education to  the children of Indian expats. It was the first expatriate educational institution to be established in Dubai. The land for the school was granted by the then ruler of Dubai, Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum. The initial enrollment was 8 students; it has since grown to more than 15,000 across all three campuses, including 370 students with special needs. The school has about 600 teachers. Location. The school has three campuses. The Junior School at Al Garhoud accommodates Pre-Primary classes (girls and boys KG1–Grade 4). The Senior School in Oud Metha includes girls' Grades 5 to 10 , who commence in the morning shift (7:30am to 1:50pm), boys' Grades 5 to 10, who commence in the afternoon shift (9:10am to 3:50pm). The school has adopted a new initiative, called Rahhal ('traveller' in Arabic), which provides the senior section with a 4-day week, rather than the original 5 day week for their junior counterparts. The Grades 11 & 12, both boys and girls, operate in the Rahhal shift (7:00am to 3:00pm) on alternating days. The school also operates the Indian International School (IIS DSO), located in Dubai Silicon Oasis. The Oud Metha Metro Station on the Green Line is  located near the senior school campus, and the GGICO Metro Station on the Red Line is located next to the Junior School campus. The school also has a fleet of buses to transport students and staff. A government hospital and a church are located on the road opposite the main campus, while a private hospital is located behind the junior school. Facilities. The centerpiece of the School complex is the Sheikh Rashid Auditorium, which can accommodate about 1,600 guests. It had undergone renovations in the past, and has completely been revamped. The school has a number of libraries and laboratories  for reference work and research work. The Aryabhatta Reference and Research Centre houses a collection of over 40,000 titles, 200 CDs and over 100 international periodicals and newspapers and has 20 workstations, browsing areas, collaborative learning zones, extended and virtual classrooms. The school ICT Department provides for the technology needs of students and teachers: Smartboard technology has been introduced, and the ICT Department has developed a new rubrics system called SAT (Student's Academic Tracker) for student evaluation. The school also has a counseling center, and its own student-run radio station, "Recess Radio", which goes live during the break  time of the respective batches. Publications. School publications include: Celebrations. The school celebrates Indian Republic Day every 26 January along with religious festivals like Diwali and Christmas. Extra-curricular Activities. The school has a Student Council Body elected by teachers and supervisors, which governs student activities. The student council is elected in sections: Sub Junior, Junior, Intermediate and Senior. There are four houses named after precious gems: Emerald (Green), Ruby (Red), Sapphire (Blue) and Topaz (Yellow). The school has a Sports Club for weekend sports, and participates in the National School League, primarily in Football and Basketball. Weekly matches occur  during a set month every year. The school also has a series of Saturday Clubs, which have been designed to enhance the skills of children to help them grow in all fields of life and prepare them as a potential for the school teams. They also offer expensive educational tours to different countries for students in Grades 5–12. KHDA Inspection Report. The Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA) is an educational quality assurance authority based in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. It undertakes early learning, school and higher learning institution management and rates them as well. Following is a summary of  the inspection ratings for the Indian High School, Dubai. Its current ratings have since slipped from Outstanding to Very Good. A summary of ratings for all schools in Dubai can be found online. (Note: OUTSTANDING ranked schools do not have a KHDA report for the 2016–2017 school year.) Achievements. The school has acquired membership of Dubai Quality Group and has acquired ISO : 9001 : 2000 Certification. It has also received the Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum Award for Distinguished School and School Administration twice, in 2002 and 2005. The school won the eIndia 2012 awards for the No. 1 "ICT  Enabled school of year" in the category of "digital learning".