Pak school in RAK is on the verge of collapse: Dr Gul

RAS AL KHAIMAH - The Pakistan Centre, Ras Al Khaimah, will attempt to solve the problems of the Pakistani community residing in the emirate as well as those of the community members living in the UAE in general.

By M. A. Qudoos

Published: Sat 22 May 2004, 9:40 AM

Last updated: Mon 6 Feb 2023, 10:11 AM

Dr Gul Karim Khan, who has been elected president of the centre for a fourth term of three years from 2004 to 2007, gave this assurance at the oath-taking ceremony at the centre on Thursday.

He added that the falling educational standard of the Pakistan Higher Secondary School, the first and oldest expatriate school in the emirate, needed immediate attention of the Pakistani consulate.

"The school is on the verge of collapse. The children of the members of the school's board of governors do not study in the school, so they do not have personal interest in the school. The principal of the school has been retained despite poor results of the students in the board examinations. The pass percentage of the students has come down from 80 per cent to 33 per cent and the number of students has fallen from 700 to less than 500 in three years," he said.

Dr Gul said that the centre was planning to introduce an insurance scheme for its members. He advised the members to take advantage of the upgraded facilities at the centre, including comprehensive sports facilities.

He suggested that the Pakistan government should increase the validity of the passport to 10 years from five years to avoid carrying two passports after the three-year UAE job and residence visa is renewed and stamped on the passport.

The newly elected managing committee of the centre took oath of office. The oath was administered by Mohammad Ayaz Wazir, Pakistan's Ambassador to Qatar, who specially flew in to attend the ceremony.

The office-bearers are Dr Gul Karim Khan, president, Nawab Khan, senior vice-president; Chaudhry Mohammad Hanif, vice-president, Eng. Azimullah Khan, general secretary; Javed Iqbal Khattak, joint secretary; Sher Mohammad Khan, finance secretary, Syed Kalim Mahmoodi, cultural secretary, Mohammad Anwar Nadeem, entertainment secretary, Hukamran Khan, public relations secretary, Khial Zaman, sports secretary, Dilawar Khan Haji, Press secretary, and Sultan Jan, membership secretary.

Riazul Haq, chairman of the Election Commission, gave details of the elections. Out of 759 registered voters, 595 members cast their votes in the elections held on April 23, thus the voters' turnout was 75 per cent.

Present at the oath-taking ceremony were Brig. Mohammad Al Nobi, deputy director-general of Ras Al Khaimah Police, Mubarak Ali Al Shamsi, director-general of Ras Al Khaimah Municipality, Tariq Masood, welfare counsellor, and Najeeb Abbasi, commercial counsellor at the Pakistan Consulate.

Shaikh Faisal bin Saqr Al Qasimi, director-general, finance and chairman of the Free Zone in Ras Al Khaimah, and Amanullah Larik, Pakistan Consul-General, were among the guests of honour who attended a dinner hosted by the new managing committee. An elaborate cultural programme was also held at the centre in the evening.