School Governing Body

Mr. Abdul Hasan Lahir is the Chairman of the Governing Body. An engineer by profession, he has over 3 decades of experience in the education industry. His dedication to quality education and his hands – on approach within the sector has led to immense growth of the group over the last 30 years. Mr. Lahir started his first major endeavor in the early 80’s, after a successful career in various organizations in Dubai. He took charge of the group of schools under challenging circumstances and built them into model institutions. His dream was to offer value- based education of the highest order, currently standing at a total of 6000 students across all schools and the nursery. Mr. Lahir is the Founder President of Apple International Toastmasters Club, Dubai, UAE. He is involved in corporate social responsibility projects (CSR), contributing to various charity organizations and currently setting up a care taking home for the cancer patients.

Ms. Saira Kamal, an educational entrepreneur, has been in the field of education for the last 30 years, currently providing guidance to the academic fraternity and Senior Management Team of all schools under LEAMS Education. She believes staunchly in her vision about imparting quality education to children. Her ongoing commitment to education has had good impact on improving educational standards among the group schools. She works regularly with the core senior team to ensure high quality education with optimum operating efficiency. As an inspiring leader, Ms. Saira Kamal constantly motivates everybody around her to excel in whatever they do.

Mr. Nabil has been a Governing Body member since the inception of the school. He is the Director & CEO at LEAMS Education, Executive Director of M/s Gamma Group of Companies, UAE and the Vice Chairman of the Board- KHB Mercato, Kochi, India. He graduated from The Indian Institute of Technology- Madras, India. Later on, he attained a Post Graduate Degree in Strategic Project Management from Heriott Watt University, Edinburgh. Mr. Nabil Lahir is one of the core strategists at LEAMS Education. He oversees and executes the extensive functionality of all the group entities. With a passion for education and a change driven mind-set, Mr. Nabil has been instrumental in shaping and developing the group.

A medical professional par excellence and an entrepreneur at heart, he is an experienced General Physician who graduated from AIMS (Cochin) and completed his post graduation from MGMCRI (Pondicherry). He has been passionately involved in strategy, business planning, decision making and believes in corporate social responsibility and green initiatives. Dr Mohammed constantly provides invaluable support and guidance to the schools for their continuous development and progress in all areas.

Ms. Deepa has a vast professional experience in HR Management and has qualified her master’s in human resources & TQM. She has to her credit significant achievements and commendations in increasingly responsible roles in more than 12 years of distinguished career spanning across India, South Africa & UAE in various industrial/hospitality sectors. She strongly supports empowering employees to perform with sincerity, commitment, dedication and job satisfaction. She has an extensive background in HR generalist affairs and is passionate about Strategic Human Resources/Performance Appraisal System / Bench Marking Performance / Defining Core Competencies/Training & Development of Manpower & Talent Acquisition and retention. She has proved her merits as a result oriented, hands-on individual and a company focused leader in increasing operational efficiency with high end result.

Winner of the 2016 International Children’s Peace Prize, Kehkashan Basu is an iconic global influencer, environmentalist, champion of women and children’s rights, TEDx speaker, Climate Reality Mentor, author, musician, peace and sustainability campaigner. A Forbes 30 Under 30 and the first-ever Winner of the Voices Youth Gorbachev-Schultz Legacy Award for her work on nuclear disarmament, Kehkashan is a United Nations Human Rights Champion, a National Geographic Young Explorer, a UN Habitat Young City Champion, the Regional Organizing Partner for North America for the NGO Major Group and one of Canada’s Top25 Women of Influence. Kehkashan is the Founder-President of global social innovation enterprise Green Hope Foundation, that works at a grassroots level in 26 countries, empowering young people, especially those from vulnerable communities, in the sustainable development process and she has spoken at over 200 United Nations and other global fora across 25 countries. She is the youngest Trustee of the Parliament of the World’s Religions, Co-Chair of the University of Toronto’s SDG Advisory Council, Council Lead of the Toronto-St. Paul’s Constituency Youth Council, Canada, Winner of the World Literacy Award for for Significant Contribution to Literacy by a Young Person, Winner of Canada’s Global Energy Show Emerging Leader Award, a member of the World Humanitarian Forum Youth Council, Winner of the Pax Christi Toronto Teacher of Peace Award and a Co-Leader of the UN Women Generation Equality Forum Action Coalition on Feminist Action for Climate Justice. She continues to work tirelessly to amplify the voices of young people, women and girls, in decision-making processes.

Dr. C.B. Binu is the specialist Child and Adult Psychiatrist at Al Fasht Medical Centre with almost 15 years’ experience in Childhood Neurodevelopmental Disorders especially Autism Spectrum Disorder, Learning and behavioral disorders and Adult psychiatry. He leads a multidisciplinary team that evaluate, investigate and provided therapeutic intervention to children and adolescents with Childhood Behavioral and Emotional Disorders. Adults with Major Depression, Stress, Obsessive Compulsive Disorders, Psychotic states, Memory deficits and Addictions are also treated by Dr. Binu with clinical acumen and compassion. Before joining Al Fasht, Dr. Binu was heading Navajyoti Centre for Child Behavioral Sciences, Kusamagiri Hospital, India, which is a super specialized mind institute for childhood neuro – psychiatric syndromes and Autism. He also devised family and school based outreach programs for screening, assessing and treating psychological disorders in child and adolescents in the community. He was also the Consultant Psychiatrist at Indira Gandhi Co- Operative Hospital, Kochi where he delivered outpatient and inpatient services at the Child Guidance Clinic, General Adult Psychiatry, Memory Clinic, De addiction unit and Personality disorders centre. He also served as Non PG Registrar at Christian Medical College, Vellore, during his early years in Psychiatry. Dr. C.B. Binu has also chaired and organized various conferences and seminars on Child developmental Disorders and Adult Psychiatry.

Her name is Saima Taj, she comes from Pakistan, raised in UAE. Inspired by her father, she has a vast experience in the hospitality industry and worked for organisation such as international and Jumeirah beach hotel. Being a part of the governing body, she would like The Apple International School to reach its goals with pride and teamwork following the vision and mission of the school. The school is not only about education but also the upbringing of the students. The learning system of the AIS is a joyful experience as each day begins 😀

Mr. Jinto Sebastian holds a PhD and Master’s Degree in Mathematics and Bachelor’s Degree in Education with over 15 years of experience in teaching and learning. Before joining Apple International School, he was working as Academic Head for the South zone region for NIIT(SLS) Ltd, Bangalore. He has experience in teaching Secondary, UG, and PG students. His core skills are in Education Administration, Teacher mentoring and development, Curriculum planning and improvement, Lesson evaluation, Effective use of Assessment information to inform teaching& learning, and training new staff. He leads and is passionate about the Data-driven approach to teaching &learning strategies, curriculum enrichment, assessments, and student achievement.

Ms. Vindya Kumardeen is the Head of Foundation Stage who aspires to guide teachers in becoming the best facilitators of early childhood education they can be. She has been working at AIS since August 2009 and has 13 years of professional experience in education sector. Ms. Vindya is an expert in early childhood education sector who is passionate about inspiring educators in making changes in their practice to impact children’s learning and development. She is a firm believer in everyday being an opportunity to learn and develop. The transformation of people and self is what she believes to be the most satisfying thing in her profession. She is independent and takes on challenges every day..

Ms.Fazna Khan is the English Coordinator for the Year 3 & 4. She started her teaching career as an early childhood educational professional and then started teaching the Primary students. She has been working at AIS since August 2011 her passion for teaching began in 2001 and ever since then she has been in the educational field. She is a dedicated, student-focused, and goal driven teaching professional with a solid commitment to providing a well-balanced, supportive and engaging learning environment for all students. Helping each student progress in all areas of their development: academic, social, and language. A challenge that she accepts with positivity. She strives to create a community of learners that nurtures this growth in a positive, fun environment. Her teaching philosophy is very simple, she believes that students do not care how much you know, until they know how much you care. She believes caring is what they need first, after they know we care then they open their heart and mind, and this has made her teaching career easier! Forming relationships with her students and trying to help them find their dreams and strengths is her goal, so they can believe in themselves the way she believes in them. Either way they are the future and have unlimited value. ‘A teacher affects eternity: he can never tell where his influence stops.’ –Henry Adam.