Students, staff and parents from various Indian Schools across the Sultanate thronged to the City Amphitheater Qurum on Friday, 12 April 2019 to witness the Grand Finale of the first edition of Indian School Quiz, ISQUIZ 2019, which was hosted by Indian School Darsait under the aegis of the Board of Directors, Indian Schools in Oman.
His Excellency Dr. Said Bin Hamed Bin Said Al Rubaii, Secretary General, Education Council was the Chief Guest. Her Excellency Sarmila Parajuli Dhakal, Ambassador of Nepal to the Sultanate of Oman and Shri Rakesh Adlakha, Deputy Chief of Mission, Embassy of India, Mr. Tariq Hilal Al Barwani, Founder of Knowledge Oman were the Guests of Honour for the occasion.
In his introductory message, Dr. Baby Sam Saamuel, Chairman, Board of Directors, Indian Schools in Oman congratulated Indian School Darsait for hosting the first edition of ISQUIZ in a spectacular way. He emphasized that IS Quiz was aimed to unleash the power of the minds, reasoning and computing of our children and was a conscious addition to the initiatives being rolled out by the Board to enable & enhance holistic education within the schooling system.
Mr.Tariq Hilal Al Barwani lauded the contribution of India to the world. He underscored the significance of Indian Schools in Oman in permeating knowledge among students and moulding them to face the challenges of the world with courage and fortitude. He also elaborated on the magnificent way the ISQUIZ was organized by Indian School Darsait.
The Chief Guest His Excellency Dr. Said Bin Hamed Bin Said Al Rubaii declared ISQUIZ 2019 open in the presence of Embassy officials, luminaries from Indian diaspora, Presidents and members of the school management committees, Principals, teachers, parents and nearly 4000 students from different Indian Schools across the Sultanate.
The Quiz Master, renowned quizzer, Mr. Vinay Mudaliar from ‘Mindcogs’ Bangalore kept the audience absolutely engaged and spell-bound with his unique ingenuity and style. He ruled the stage for more than three hours making ISQUIZ teams battle, audience whoop, cheer and applaud. It was indeed a battle of brains as the teams exhibited their bout of knowledge, wit and excellence to the core.
The Chief Guest and other distinguished guests gave away the cash awards of OMR 300, 200 and 100 to the winners of the first, second and third positions respectively apart from several enticing sponsored prizes.
In the Junior Category, Lael Alva and Abhay Raaj Mishra of Indian School Al Wadi Al Kabir won the coveted BoD Ever-rolling Trophy and Arhaan Shamraz and Nithin M Das of Indian School Sur secured the first runner-up position while Rohan Suchithran and Aman Saji of Indian School Sohar finished as the second runner-up.
In the Senior Category, Krithivaas Vijay and Aanvik Singh of Indian school Muscat emerged as the winners to clinch the BoD Ever-rolling Trophy in a breath-taking tie breaker against the Sneha Ann Regi and Adithya B Panicker, students of Indian School Darsait who secured the first runner-up slot while Darin Carvalho and Naman Verma of Indian school Salalah emerged as the second runner-up.
Winners in the sub-junior category from each school were also awarded certificates and trophies on the occasion. This was the first time an inter-school quiz had been organized for children in this category.
Indian School Darsait, the host school of ISQUIZ 2019, was felicitated by Chairman BoD for their stupendous team work in conducting ISQUIZ and setting a benchmark in professionalism and organizational skills. The Chairman announced that the next edition of ISQUIZ would be hosted by Indian School Al Ghubra, following which Principal Dr. Sridevi P Thashnath of Indian School Darsait ceremoniously handed over the ISQUIZ Flag to Mrs. Papri Ghosh, Principal of Indian School Al Ghubra.
On behalf of the Board of Directors, Dr. C.M. Najeeb, Vice Chairman BoD concluded the ceremony with a vote of thanks, expressing gratitude to His Majesty Sultan Qaboos Bin Said Al Said and the Ministry of Education for their continued support in all the endeavors of the Indian Schools in the nation. He further extended his deep appreciation to the Chief Guest and the Guests of honor, dignitaries, Mr. Salim Parakkot, Managing Director of Noor Gazal, the main sponsor of ISQUIZ 2019, all other sponsors, guests and the invitees and congratulated the Quiz Master Mr. Vinay Mudaliar for his unique presentation interspersed with wit and humor, making the Grand Finale of ISQUIZ 2019 a scintillating event of edutainment.