The Island of Masirah, home to about 7,000 expatriates, is set to get a new primary school, reported Mrudu Naik in The Times of Oman (article no longer available). Expats living on the island (many of whom work at the Al Maha petrol station) had complained about the lack of a foreign school, as it forced them to send their young children elsewhere in Oman or back home for education.
As in most Gulf countries, expats in Oman generally prefer to send their children to either international schools or those modelled on the systems in their home countries.
Wrote Naik:
Housed in a rented building near Al Maha petrol station in the island, the Indian School Masirah is all set to open its doors for 35 students (from KG 1 to Grade 4) in the first week of August. The formal inauguration of the school is slated for July 24th […] Indian School Masirah joins the two Omani schools that already exist [on Masirah]. Three teachers and a principal have already been recruited to support the functioning of the school that has 35 students and classes up to grade four.
The majority of the expatriates living on Masirah are from India, but there are also workers from Bangladesh, Pakistan and other elsewhere. Though the Masirah School is designed to serve the Indian community in particular, it is also open to expat kids from other countries. The Times’ Naik quoted Tonny George Alexander, Chairman of the Board of Directors for Indian Schools, as saying
it is our endeavour to make education accessible to the Indian community living in far flung places such as this. We will continue with our efforts of opening schools so that no family is put at an inconvenience of having to travel long distances, or leaving their families back in India.
Indeed, as more and more Indian workers step into global positions, demand for Indian schools abroad is likely to rise in other countries as well.