37 years of service; Pakistani teacher retires from Indian curriculum school
One of Dubai’s longest-serving school teachers is retiring after 37 years of working in the same school and for seven different principals. Pakistani expatriate Ghazala Dar, who taught Urdu and Islamic Studies at an Indian curriculum school for over three decades, is bidding adieu to GEMS English High School, Dubai, on June 30.
“I completed my graduation in Pakistan and did my bachelor in education (B.Ed) from there as well. I worked in a semi-government school as a primary teacher for two years. After my marriage, my husband and I moved to the UAE,” she told to media. The Lahore-native arrived in the UAE in 1981.
Though she had interviewed with then school principal Professor Varghese, she officially joined the school as an Urdu and Islamic studies teacher on November 13, 1984. “I couldn’t join in 1981 since I was pregnant with my first child. After she grew old enough, I came back for an interview and joined the school when I was 28,” said Ghazala.
When Ghazala walked into the school campus for the first time, the construction of the school’s Oud Metha campus was ongoing. “In 1984, the foundation of the school was being built. He was working out of an old portacabin.” Ghazala would see Mariamma Varkey, the founder of the first GEMS school, interact and oversee discipline on the school campus.
