In 1965, aboard a ship coming from Mumbai, the young Indian 'dreamer' Nafkar Kano Rauter Jamal al-Din arrived in Dubai, seeking a job opportunity, carrying with him many hopes and ambitions. He crossed the seas in a not-so-easy journey to begin his path in the promising city as a bank employee with a salary that did not exceed 500 dirhams.
After years, Jamal al-Din (91 years old) wanted to give back to this city through education. His dream was to found a school with low fees, and he left his job in the early 80s to take that path. He founded the English Crescent School, which to this day carries the same mission, and his dream lives on with him and his children.
At the beginning of his conversation with 'Al Ittihad', Jamal al-Din recalled distant years when he decided to come to Dubai, explaining: 'I left India on February 21, 1965, and arrived on the 26th of the same month. I got a job in a bank because I specialized in economics, and my salary was 500 dirhams, which was considered high and distinguished at that time'.
'Dubai is a wonderful city,' Jamal al-Din described, praising the vision of the late Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktum, may God have mercy on him. 'Sheikh Rashid had a unique vision that made the emirate reach what it has achieved today. I met him several times, in the Grand Mosque when he came to pray, as he had a friendly personality and spoke with everyone'.
As for the dream of the school, Jamal al-Din mentioned that he received a significant promotion at his bank job and continued in that field until 1982, when he obtained a permit from the Ministry of Education to establish a school and began to found it, pursuing his dream of making education available to all.
He added: 'I always dreamed of establishing a school with low fees that would allow education for all segments of society, especially workers with low salaries. A person must give back to the community, and when he departs, he will take nothing with him but good deeds. Serving people is a fundamental mission in life'.
Jamal al-Din emphasized that he insisted that the school have low fees, believing that education is the most important weapon to fight ignorance. He opened it in the Rashidiya area, and it initially included 33 students. He employed about seven teachers who came from Mumbai. He admitted that he faced many challenges, as an educational project with low fees faces opposition from competing projects that charge high fees, and most of them do not want such a project to continue.
Jamal al-Din explained that he worked on developing the school, moving from Rashidiya to Al Qusais, and then to Al Qusais in 2000. Today, the school has 1600 students, and the curriculum ranges from kindergarten to high school, with an average annual fee of 3500 dirhams.
Jamal al-Din is 91 years old, but he still follows the school's work on a daily basis. In addition, he is passionate about writing poetry and has published a collection of poems in the Malayalam language, which was translated into Arabic under the title 'Zamzam'. He describes himself as a 'dreamer' who dreams daily of helping people, especially the poor who cannot afford high educational fees, and to this day, he has dreams that he strives to achieve in 'the land of opportunities' Dubai, which he never ceases to describe as 'a wonderful city'.
Dr. Salim Jamal al-Din and Dr. Rias, Nafkar's sons, work with him in the school. Dr. Salim said that he works in his clinic but also works in the school, which adheres to the standards set by the Knowledge and Human Development Authority. He noted that the program taught is good and carries many activities and events that are organized alongside education, and he believes that education is not just studying but also includes many additional activities that must be offered alongside classes.
Dr. Rias explained that the school can charge such low fees because his father built the school's own building, which reduces annual costs. He stressed that his father did not dream of accumulating wealth; he could have accumulated a great fortune over the years through his work in banks or even teaching, but he wanted education to be available to all.
He said that the fees charged by the school are the lowest in Dubai, as his father seeks to keep families together by providing education for limited-income families. He pointed out that the father has a vision for the school to become bigger, hoping that they can achieve their father's big dreams, especially as the school cannot accept more students today.
