By Ramesh Mathew/Staff Reporter


QOC Secretary General Sheikh Saoud bin Abdurahman al-Thani, Indian ambassador Deepa Gopalan Wadhwa, principal A K Shrivastava, Sarla Birla, Basant Kumar Birla, R K Dalmia, Lukose Chacko, Dr Mohan Thomas, C V Rappai and Gope Shahani at the unveiling of the plaque to announce the inauguration of the new building of Birla Public School in Mesaimeer.
PICTURES: Jayaram
The country’s Indian expatriates are thankful to HH the Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani and Qatari authorities for helping realise the educational dreams of their children, said Indian ambassador Deepa Gopalan Wadhwa.
The Indian envoy said this at the formal inaugural function of the new state-of-art  Birla Public School (BPS) complex in Mesaimeer. This is the first school outside India to bear the name of Birla, one of the widely respected business families in the south Asian country. 
Classes at the new school building, located in the vicinity of the Catholic Church of Our Lady of Rosary, have been on for about 45 days.
The ambassador  said the  Indian expatriate community should feel proud at the magnificent design, elevation and structure of the imposing three-storied school building, spread over 22,000 square metres.
She said that facilitating the right atmosphere and conditions for the education of the children in the community should be top on the agenda of the school managements and on that score, those behind the BPS had succeeded in a big way.
Speaking earlier, the school’s chief patron and Qatar Olympic Committee (QOC) secretary general Sheikh Saoud bin Abdurahman al-Thani reminded the gathering that over and again the Almighty showered His graces and blessings on the school in abundance and that itself was the main reason for its remarkable growth in such a short period of just about eight years. “Besides HH the Emir and authorities of different government departments, I also laud the initiatives of the management, the principal, teachers and parents who reposed their trust and confidence in the team that managed the day today affairs at the institution.”
The school’s founder chairman, Dr Mohan Thomas, recalled the modest beginning of the school  at a villa in Salata Jadeed in April 2004. “The school’s growth has been amazing and today I’m so happy to say that Birla Public School (BPS) has recorded a nearly 30-fold growth from its initial days.”
The school, spread over three campuses in Mesaimeer, Salata Jadeed and Al Hilal, has close to 6,200 students and such a growth has been possible only owing to the liberal patronage from the local authorities and the trust of those numerous parents who send their children to the school, said the founder president.
The school’s life-time patrons and octogenarians, Basant Kumar Birla and Sarla Birla, flew in from India to attend the inaugural ceremony.
School principal A K Shrivastava  recollected the strides made by the school since its start on April 10, 2004. “From being a tiny school, it has grown to the present envious levels. “To meet the requirements of about 6,200 students, the school has a 320-strong teaching staff, 250 supporting staffers and 165-strong bus fleet,” said Shrivastava.
While recalling that the year 2010-11 was exceptionally good for his institution in different areas, the principal said besides moving on to its own new educational complex, the most noteworthy achievement this year was the admitting of  591 kids to the school’s  KG classes this year. “This has been possible even without inserting a single ad on admissions in any newspapers,” he said.
School officials chairman C V Rappai, vice chairman Lukose Chacko, directors Gope Shahani and Aarti Oberoi  and governing council members Rajinder Kumar Dalmia, Prakash Kumar Mohota, Jayashree Mohota and R K Garg and Ashghal chairman Nasser Ali al-Mawlawi were also present.
The inaugural function  coincided with the inauguration of the school’s Basant Kumar Birla auditorium.
The school management  honoured managing director of Imperial Trading & Contracting Company James K Chacko and architect R S Anil Kumar of Doha Design Centre for their contributions to make the  building a reality.
While Chacko was specially lauded for completing the school in a record time of 18 months, Anil Kumar’s design of the building, which is a combination of Indian and Arabic architecture, came in for praise from Sheikh Saoud bin Abdurahman al-Thani and others on the dais.
The ceremony was also attended by the representatives of the Supreme Educational Council (SEC), expatriate schools and a large number of members of the Indian community.
A cultural show followed the inaugural ceremony.