Resignation of Bahrain school principal sparks furore Indo-Asian News Service
Dubai, May 12 (IANS) The resignation of the principal of a leading school catering to expatriate Indians in Bahrain has sparked a furore in the community. According to media reports, K.T. Karmachandran, principal of the Indian School in Isa Town in north central Bahrain, tendered his resignation on May 7 in the middle of the academic session, citing personal reasons. He will hand over charge to his successor at the end of this month. Parents, however, allege that Karmachandran, who had served the school for five years, was forced out. A report in the Gulf Daily News quoted sources as saying that he was pressured to resign because of bad blood between him and certain members of the school's executive committee. The Gulf Daily News report also quoted executive committee chairperson P.V. Radhakrishnan Pillai as saying that Karmachandran "resigned on personal grounds". Karmachandran, on his part, has chosen to remain silent and has only said that he has not doled out favours to anyone in the admission process. The Indian School, affiliated to India's Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), was founded in 1950 by a small group of people with a workforce of three staff and a headmistress. Today it has grown into one of the largest expatriate schools in the Gulf region with 6,000 students on its rolls. Besides the one at Isa Town, it has another campus at Sitrah. Parents of students now want Karmachandran to be re-appointed till the end of the current academic term in February next year. A report in Trade Arabia quoted a parent, K.R. Nair, as saying, "The Indian School belongs to the Indian community and parents are the owners of the school. An executive committee is elected by parents for a three-year term." He asserted that the resignation of the principal is a matter that needs to be probed. A statement, co-signed by Pillai and Karmachandran, has now been issued by the Indian School reiterating that the principal had quit on personal grounds. "The executive committee has since accepted his resignation. The executive committee records his valuable contribution to the school and takes this opportunity to wish him the very best in all his pursuits," the statement read. Parents, however, are not convinced and have threatened to take up the issue with Bahrain's education ministry, saying the untimely resignation will disrupt their children's education. _____________________________________________ Do not post admin requests to the list. Goanet mailing list (Goanet@goanet.org)