IHS Legacy

1957 – It all began when Hemkala Behn took the first giant step to make a difference in the society through her sheer vision and determination to create the foundation of this institution. The little acorn that she planted, has now become a mighty oak – The Indian High Group of Schools.

The Indian High School began its odyssey of excellence in education when the Bharat Vidyalaya, also then known as the Indian Primary School, came into existence in a villa in Bur Dubai. 

It was also the year when we started our longest standing tradition. It was for the first time that IHS had carried out the Indian Republic Day celebrations on its campus. Attended by the Late Ruler of Dubai, H.H Sheikh Maktoum bin Rashid Al Maktoum and other prominent UAE leaders and dignitaries, this day is forever cherished for bringing the two communities and cultures together.

In August 1968, with the combined efforts of Mr. Pancholia and the Indian community, the school shifted from the villa in Bur Dubai to a rented building near Dubai Museum.

In order to accommodate the demands of the Indian community and provide a holistic education, the late Ruler of Dubai, Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum, magnanimously granted a 332,486 square feet plot of land for the construction of a modern school building in Za’abeel.

IHS became affiliated with the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), New Delhi.

The first batch of 23 students sat for the All Indian Secondary School Examinations in April 1977.

In April this year, IHS had its first batch of students writing the All India Senior School Certificate Examination.

Bhoomi pooja for IHS New Block

IHS becomes the only school in the Gulf to win the prestigious Sheikh Hamdan Award for Distinguished School and School Administration twice.  

The school hosted the legendary former Indian President Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam. A truly inspirational day for all of our staff and students to be able to meet this extraordinary personality.

IHS becomes the first school in the Gulf to receive the ISO 9001-2000 certification. The certification attests to the Quality Management Systems that are in place at IHS in all aspects of the school’s operations, both academic and non-academic.

As the ISO certification is valid for three years only and needs to be renewed after that, the school successfully renewed it in 2006 and 2009. The certification is a testimony to the school’s continuous efforts to further education quality and teaching standards. 

Completing 50 years was a major milestone for IHS as the school fulfilled some of its long-standing goals in this golden year. The school entered its 50th year with style and panache as more than 1000 students, parents, teachers and administrators gathered at the Sheikh Rashid Auditorium to celebrate the Golden Anniversary. 

Since the school has been so diligent in adopting state-of-the-art ICT technology, it bagged the ‘Digital Learning ICT Enabled School of the Year 2010’ award from the Indian Government. The school’s e-learning programme ‘Destination Success’ was one of the largest programmes in the region.

The CBSE-I International Curriculum was launched at IHS with 180 principals and teachers from 30 schools of nine countries attending the inauguration.

One of the biggest feathers in the IHS cap was the ‘Outstanding’ rating awarded to us by the Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA). In the true IHS tradition, the top management attributes this victory to all the hard work put in by the staff.  

H.H Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, President of Dubai Civil Aviation Authority and Chairman of Emirates Airlines & Group unveils the plaque declaring the formal opening of the Indian International School, Dubai Silicon Oasis in January 2012.