The 26th conference of the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) school principals in the Gulf will be held in New Delhi between Jan. 9 and Jan. 12 to discuss critical challenges and other significant issues confronting Indian schools functioning in Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states, said E.K. Mohammed Shaffe, principal of the International Indian School-Dammam.
He said Foreign Minister Salman Khurshid will inaugurate the conference, which is being hosted this year by the Saudi Chapter of the CBSE.
A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, the former president of India, will be the key-note speaker.
The four-day event with the theme “Innovative Leadership for Creative Learning” will kick off on Jan. 9 at 10 a.m. Professor Dinesh Singh, vice chancellor of Delhi University, will address the inaugural session.
“More than 100 principals from different CBSE-affiliated schools across the GCC will participate in the gathering of academic leaders,” Shaffe told Arab News.
Vineet Joshi, chairman of the CBSE, Kapil Dev, cricket legend and former captain of the Indian cricket team, and Sadhana Parashar, director of Academic Innovation, Research and Training, CBSE, will attend the opening session.
The conference will be held in nine sessions. The second session will be presided over by Joshi, while Parashar will attend as chief resource person.
The third session will be conducted by Govinda, vice chancellor of National University of Educational Planning and Administration (NUEPA), New Delhi.
Lt. Gen. (Retd) Zameeruddin Shah, vice chancellor of Aligarh Muslim University, will also address the session. Balasubramaniam, former director of academics, CBSE, will chair the fourth session.
Professor Vijay Menon, faculty at Great Lakes Institute of Business Management and IIM Indore, will be the resource person for the morning session on Saturday.
The conference will come to an end with a business session and valedictory session in the afternoon on Sunday.
A steering committee of principals has been set up to organize the event. It includes Shaffe, Syed Hameed, Saudi chapter convener and principal, IIS-Jubail; Syed Masood Ahmed, principal, IIS-Jeddah; Shaukat Parvez, principal, IIS-Riyadh; Minhaj Khan, principal, DPS-Riyadh; Sreedevi Menon, principal, Al-Wurood School-Jeddah; Tabassum Farooqui, principal, NMEIS-Riyadh; Asima Saleem, principal, Yara School-Riyadh; Lidiya George, principal, Sunshine School-Alkhobar; Rahmathulla, principal, Al-Yasmin School-Riyadh and Irfan, principal, IIS-Taif.
CBSE conference to address challenges facing KSA schools
CBSE conference to address challenges facing KSA schools
Threat to Kingdom’s security is ‘red line’ that will be ‘addressed and neutralized,’ Saudi envoy says
- Abdulaziz Alwasil tells UN Security Council the situation in southern Yemen is ‘a just cause with social and historic dimensions’ that can only be resolved through dialogue
- Recent military activity in the south was unilateral, resulting in an escalation that harms the interests of Yemeni people and undermines efforts to address issues in the south, he said
NEW YORK CITY: Any attempt to threaten Saudi Arabia’s national security is a “red line” and will be met with decisive action, the Kingdom’s ambassador to the UN told the Security Council on Wednesday.
Speaking during a meeting of the council to discuss Yemen, Abdulaziz Alwasil said the situation in the south of the country is “a just cause with social and historic dimensions” that can only be resolved through dialogue.
“We stress that any attempt to threaten our national security is a red line, and we will not hesitate to take the necessary actions and steps to address it and neutralize it,” he added.
Alwasil reaffirmed Saudi Arabia’s support for Yemeni President Rashad Al-Alimi, the Presidential Leadership Council, and the Yemeni government in their efforts to achieve security, stability, development and peace while preserving national unity.
He said military activity by Southern Transitional Council forces in Hadramout and Al-Mahra on Dec. 2, 2025, was unilateral, did not have the approval of the Presidential Leadership Council, and was not carried out in coordination with the Coalition to Restore Legitimacy in Yemen.
It had resulted in an unjustified escalation that harmed the interests of the Yemeni people, undermined efforts to address the issues in the south, and ran counter to the coalition’s objectives, Alwasil added.
The Kingdom, working with its coalition partners, the Presidential Leadership Council and the Yemeni government, had moved to contain the situation by dispatching a military force to coordinate arrangements with the Southern Transitional Council in Aden, he said.
The aim was to ensure the return of the southern council’s forces to their previous positions outside of Hadramout and Al-Mahra, and the handover of camps to legitimate government forces and local authorities in line with agreed procedures, Alwasil added.
He expressed regret over the military operations that took place in Hadramout and Al-Mahra, close to Saudi Arabia’s southern border, which he said posed a direct threat to the Kingdom’s national security, as well as the security of Yemen and regional stability. Such steps were extremely dangerous, he added, and contradicted the principles on which the Coalition to Restore Legitimacy in Yemen had been founded.
Alwasil welcomed a prisoner and detainee exchange agreement signed in Muscat on Dec. 23, which he described as an important humanitarian measure to alleviate suffering and build confidence.
He praised Oman for hosting and sponsoring the consultations and supporting negotiations, and commended the efforts of UN’s special envoy for Yemen, Hans Grundberg, the International Committee of the Red Cross and all others that has played a part.
Regarding the political efforts to resolve the crisis, Alwasil said Saudi Arabia welcomed President Al-Alimi’s call for an inclusive conference in Riyadh to bring together all stakeholders to discuss just solutions to the situation in southern Yemen.
Preparations for the conference have begun, he added, in cooperation with the Yemeni government and southern representatives, reflecting the close ties between the two countries and their shared interests in stabilizing Yemen.
He urged all southern stakeholders to participate actively and constructively in the talks, to help find comprehensive and just solutions that meet the legitimate aspirations of the people of southern Yemen.
Alwasil called on all Yemeni forces and stakeholders to cooperate and intensify their efforts to reach a lasting political settlement that would ensure security and stability.
He described the southern issue as “a just cause with social and historic dimensions,” adding that “the only way to address it is through dialogue that leads to a comprehensive political solution” based on nationally and internationally agreed terms of reference.
