Teach Middle East Magazine Sep - Dec 2020 Issue 1 Volume 8 | Page 37

Featured Teacher
D
r Ashok Kumar is the
CEO of The Indian High
School Dubai. He is a
well-known figure in the
education sector in the United
Arab Emirates. He has been
credited with the success enjoyed
by the Indian High School which
has been rated Outstanding
between 2011 and 2017. Dr Ashok
Kumar has been in the field of
education for more than 30 years,
out of which 20 years has been
in Dubai with The Indian High
School. He began his leadership
career, as a Principal, with the
Tata group in their Industrial
organisation in India. As a youth
his teachers were an inspiration
to him; their commitment and
dedication had always filled him
with awe. Ashok realised at a very
young age that educators have
the biggest impact on society
and that their role in shaping
the future generation cannot be
undermined. This is what inspired
him to become an educator. Dr
Kumar is the 2019 recipient of the
GESS Dubai lifetime achievement
award. To help him mark this
remarkable achievement we get
to know what makes him tick.
the ‘Dare to Dream’ project
(where alternative learning,
such as Sports training, outside
the campus was officially
recognised) and the ‘Dare to
Disrupt’ project (where senior
secondary students have been
given the opportunity to pursue
their own learning by making
adjustments to the school
timing).
The second one is the effort
taken to bring ‘India’ to the
Indian community in Dubai and
keep them close to their roots
and motherland through various
means. The grand celebration
of the Indian Republic Day and
the introduction of the Kabbadi
League, an Indian street sport in
Dubai, are some such examples.
What advice would you
give a new school leader
taking on their first school
leadership role?
What has been your
proudest achievement to
date as an educator and
why? Your success is determined by
your passion. A school leader has
to be passionate about ensuring
successful outcomes for his/her
students – and students must
be at the core of everything you
do. When in doubt, ask yourself
– how is this going to impact
my students; the answer to this
question will lead your way.
When you have a career
extending for more than 30 years,
it is difficult to pinpoint a single
achievement…however,
there
are two things which I cherish. What is the best
professional advice that you
have received and how has
this helped you?
The first one is the recently
launched Rahhal initiatives by
the school, where we partnered
with KHDA to bring about
‘disruptive innovation’ in the
educational landscape of Dubai
– the two projects included are Keep it simple! I was given this
advice by my mentor very early
on in my career. The trick is
to dream big and see the big
picture; but when it comes to
implementation, you need to
keep it simple and “look at the
trees and not the forest”. This
simple philosophy has helped
me implement innovative and
creative projects – whether it is
the introduction of technology in
our classrooms or the creation of
an Urban Forest on our campus.
If you could change anything
about the education sector
globally, what would you
change and why?
I wish we could do away with
the structured, ‘one-size-fits-all’
approach to education. Wouldn’t
it be wonderful if students were
able to determine their passion
and interests and pursue
them freely without having to
go through the rigours of a
formalised structured education
system? The world needs artists,
painters and musicians, the world
needs environmentalists and
free thinkers, the world needs
peace lovers and good human
beings – and I believe we need a
radical change in our education
system to ensure that the world
has all these and much more, so
that our future is safe!
What do you do for fun or to
unwind after a long day at
work.
I could answer that question
even in my deepest sleep. The
two things that I love to do when
I am not working, are gardening
and cooking. I am very proud of
the fact that our school is one of
the greenest campuses in Dubai.
I love cooking and spending
my Friday mornings, cooking
for my family. I sometimes
feel that if I hadn’t become an
educator, I would have become a
restaurateur.