Saudi Gazette

JEDDAH – India’s top diplomat in the Kingdom urged the younger generation to be more cautious and careful about the lurking dangers and dark areas inherent in social media. Delivering the keynote speech at the Annual Awards Day of International Indian School-Jeddah (IISJ) at the packed Boys’ Section Auditorium on Wednesday evening, Ahmad Javed, ambassador of India, advised them to use social media in a very careful and responsible way, and be aware of the negativities emanating out of the modern technologies.

“While using or misusing social media or being misguided by it, willy-nilly you may be part of an act which is violating the existing law of the land whether it is in India or Saudi Arabia. There are very clear laws and penalties that are centric to use of this technology and so be very careful about what you share, what you forward, what you react to and what you comment upon,” he said.

Javed said: “Technology is a great agent that brought us what was unimaginable a few years before. But people overlook the dangerous and negative aspects of technology, especially smart phones that we use liberally and widely.”

The ambassador called on the community members to be fully aware of the changes taking place in the Kingdom, especially in the rules and regulations affecting them directly. “Parents should inform and guide their wards about all these as many are oblivious about the changes in the areas such as labor, visa and Jawazat and these result in some people slip into dire situations.”

The colorful Annual Day ceremony was held in the presence of Consul General of India Mohammed Noor Rahman Sheikh, Deputy Consul General and School Observer Mohammed Shahid Alam, Higher Board Member Hassan Gayas, and IISJ Managing Committee Chairman Adv. Shamsuddeen Kodakkodan, School Principal Syed Masood Ahmed, as well as managing committee members, prominent figures from the Indian community, IISJ staff, parents and students. The dignitaries congratulated the IISJ toppers and winners, as well as their teachers and parents for their immense contributions to achieve outstanding performance in Central Board of Secondary Education examinations in classes 12 and 10.

In their highly inspiring speeches, Javed, the chief guest, and Sheikh, the guest of honor, emphasized students to become good and responsible citizens through holding fast to values. The values they embrace from their two great teachers —home and school — would make them good and responsible citizens. There is no short cut to hard work and no alternative for honesty and integrity and these pillars contribute to becoming a good human being.

Javed urged parents to identify talent and natural inclination of their wards. “Discuss with your children about their aptitude, make them aware of the huge avenues of opportunities around them and help them take the step forward in right direction. Don’t impose your wish list on them,” he said.

On his part, Sheikh urged them to meet challenges boldly with a positive spirit of mind. “You are lucky to have the benefits of having spent your schooling in a second nation where you are exposed to direct experiences of traveling through airports, and encountering visa and passport matters that are not accessible to your counterparts back at home. The world is very big and avenues are wide open in front of you and as such so don’t be frustrated because of failures,” he said while advising students to be firm in decisions, respect others and develop a helping mentality.

Echoing similar views, Gayas emphasized that developing character and inculcating moral values are of paramount importance. “Apart from analytical intelligence, developing all other forms of intelligence are to be given priority in teaching, and qualities like acquisition of skills to interact with others are also significant,” he said. Gayas also shared with students key qualities for achieving success in life.

In his speech, MC Chairman Kodakkodan called on students to concentrate on constant efforts to be successful in life. “You need to believe in yourself and have a stronger self-confidence. The world is waiting for you to embrace your talents and you have the power to make a difference, and be brave enough to accept and learn from your failures,” he said while advising them that parents are your first teachers and teachers are your second parents.

Principal Ahmed welcomed the gathering and presented the annual report. He described the excellent track record of the school in both the curricular and co-curricular fields over a span of half a century. Ahmed briefed on the remarkable achievements and giant leaps that have been made over the 49 years to realize the vision of becoming a center of excellence that develops and nurtures the potential of each student to the fullest in all walks of life. “We work hard to help children achieve all round development of their personality, including intellectual, emotional and physical development in a sound educational environment,” he said.

Earlier, the function commenced with the recitation of a few verses from the Holy Qur’an by Hamza Khaled and its translation by Mas Yunus. Head boy Farhan Mohammed Faheem and Head girl Haniya Ayesha presented bouquets to chief guest and the guest of honor respectively. Farahdhunnisa, vice principal of the girls section, proposed the vote of thanks.

Ambassador Javed and other dignitaries presented awards to first three school toppers of CBSE 12 examination. They are Mariam Hassan Bawa (first school topper and second Kingdomwide topper), Hafsa Syed Munawaruddin, Ann Christine Benny, (second toppers) and Aishwarya Balasubramanian and Shahana Fathima (third toppers). Class 10 toppers were also honored. They are Ramssy Raoof, who emerged topper Kingdomwide, Sahal Palamadathil Ayanikkat (second) and Olviya Socratees (third). Those who were honored also included streamwise toppers of class 12 and subject toppers of class 10 and 12, boy and girl students who topped from classes 6 to 9, as well as Gulf Sahodaya streamwise class 11 toppers. Boy and girl members of the Cabinet for 2017-18 academic year were also honored.

Teachers who have completed 25 years of service were honored on the occasion. They are Farzana Aslam Bhimji, Syeda Mariam Khadija, Shama Mirza, Noorunnisa K, Mohammad Aijaz, Nigar Jamal, Hafiz Mohammed Naseem. Teachers of classes 10 and 12 in the boys section and girls section were also honored. Bushra Zaidi and Sumayya P.M were the anchors.