Ex-Muscat teacher wins best teacher award
A teacher who had spent nearly three decades teaching students in Oman has been conferred a prestigious award of ‘ The Best Teacher’ instituted by the CBSE to acknowledge the outstanding efforts of the great educators worldwide.
T Premkumar ( pictured), one of the most successful CBSE principals in the Middle East and who had an illustrious career with Indian School Muscat (ISM) and Indian School Al Seeb (ISAS) is currently heading the Bhavans School in Kuwait since 2010.
Premkumar began his career at the Indira Gandhi Center for Atomic Research Centre, Kalpakkam, Chennai where he researched about ‘the extraction of Uranium from the spent fuels’ obtained from the Tarapur Nuclear Reactor, Mumbai, India. However, he forsook the wellpaid government job to follow his heart and to become a teacher.
Leo Lobo, one of the most popular principals of ISM identified the talent and passion in this young teacher and was chosen to the erstwhile “Indian Central School Muscat”, now Indian School Muscat where in no time, Premkumar rose to the rank of a senior PGT and then to the head of the faculty, department of chemistry following his ascension to the position of the vice principal of the senior secondary section of ISM.
Soon, he was unanimously chosen to lead the Indian School Al Seeb, Muscat. In his illustrious career spanning 28 years in Muscat, he had the fortune of working with five great principals and he proudly says that he has learned from each one of them something that shaped him to a principal of some repute today. His contribution to the field of education in Muscat, Oman, earned him a letter of commendation from Simmons College, Boston, USA, which, according to him, is a matter of great pride for the entire Indian diaspora in the Middle East.
“Oman is close to my heart. Oman especially Muscat has made me what I am today,” said an emotional Premkumar when asked about his association with Oman. He also mentioned the name of a great soul who was instrumental in promoting Indian education in Oman. He is none other than the very wellknown Sheikh Kanaksi Gokuldas Khimji, the founder of the Indian Central School. “I have always drawn inspiration from Sheikh Kanaksi Gokuldas Khimji. He was a man with principle and a role model for me,” said Premkumar.
While in Oman, Premkumar was nominated as the convener of the Oman Chapter for two years consecutively. Another feather in his cap was when he was chosen by the Indian school board of governors as their trainer for the subject chemistry for all the teachers of chemistry in Muscat schools.