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ASK Opens
With the opening of the
International School of Kuwait, a new milestone was
erected last Thursday, November 5, 1964, along the
highway of education in Kuwait.
The school was officially opened by His Excellency
Sheikh Abdulla Al Jaber, the Minister of Education
at an impressive ceremony attended by the leading
figures of Kuwait and international communities and
the pillars of high society in the country.
 It was some time before 10 o'clock when His
Excellency Howard Cottam U.S. Ambassador to Kuwait,
the honorary President of the school arrived,
accompanied by the other Embassy staff. After a
round of handshakes, Mr. Cottam took up a position in
front of the school entrance, surrounded by the
Ambassadors of half a dozen nations.
Everything was ready
now and a little after 10 o'clock, His Excellency
Sheikh Abdulla Al Jaber with cameras recording every
single step he took, stepped down from his car and
was escorted through a guard of honor to the school.
He shook hands effusively with everyone within reach
and listened with rapt attention as Mr. Cottam gave
a short opening speech, which was translated into
Arabic.
"We are honored that H.E. Sheikh Abdulla Al Jaber is
here," Mr Cottam said, "to open the International
School of Kuwait officially. We are thankful for the
help and support given to the school by H.E. and by
the Ministry of Education.
 Sheikh Abdulla Al Jaber replied with very nice words
on education and its importance in the building of a
sound society and of its role in the ultimate
eradication of the phantom of war.
"No nation that has educated and learned people as
its citizens can ever fall prey to the horror of
war," he said.
The International School was "brought into
existence" by a group of public spirited members of
the international community here with the help of
the American Embassy and the active support of the Ministry of Education. It is the answer to the
urgent need for an English language school that
would essentially cater to non-Arab students.
The school began functioning in the middle of last
September with an enrollment of 130 students of 19
different nationalities including American, British,
German, Indian, Swedish, Japanese, Italian, Arab and
French.
The system of teaching the nursery, kindergarten and
secondary grades is American.
As we went around on our inspection tour we could
not help noticing that no effort had been spared to
make a real go of the school. The amount of time,
money and labor spent on the school must have been
extraordinary. The text books are among the best and
the most expensive, the classrooms are refreshingly
gay and lavishly decorated, the whole building is
air-conditioned and surrounded with a relatively
expansive playground.
"I was actually surprised at what I saw, " said His
Excellency. "I was not prepared for it. I expected
the school to be like all the other ordinary private
schools in Kuwait. But I found something unique,
remarkable and praiseworthy.
"Frankly, I was astonished," said Mr. Fahmi Ghussein,
Director of the Private Schools Section in the
Ministry of Education. "The standard of education
seems to be very high at the school. I'd say this
really is an exceptional school. We have 34 private
non-governmental schools and institutes in Kuwait,
but none to compare with this. I am pleased to
notice that the school is not here to make money,
and this is most commendable. We shall on our part
do all our best to help the school attain a degree
of perfection.
One thing that struck me was the special care the
school takes in the handling of individual students.
Yes I can say this school is exceptional".
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