Tributes paid to popular Indian school principal who died in UAE

Mohammed Abubaker worked at schools in the Emirates for nearly 25 years until his death

Mohammed Abubaker was principal at Scholars Indian School until his death last week. Courtesy: Abubaker family

Family and friends of an Indian school principal, who died this week, paid tribute to an "amazing, dedicated and pious man".

Mohammed Abubaker, 59, principal of Scholars Indian School, died of a heart attack in his home in Ras Al Khaimah on Tuesday.

His funeral was held two days later in his native village of Thumbe, about 20 kilometres from the coastal town of Mangalore in India.

"His body was flown from Dubai to Mangalore on an Air India Express flight on Wednesday evening after completing the formalities, including a Covid-19 test. His daughter, Khadeeja Mafhooma, who lives in Dubai, travelled on the same flight," Basheer Veerakamba, a neighbour and friend, told The National.

It's an irreplaceable loss, but we have to surrender to the will of Allah. He was an amazing father to all the three children

As is customary in Islam, Abubaker's body was washed at Mangalore’s Central Jumma Masjid, before being taken to his home for family and friends to pay their last respects.

“Funeral prayers were offered at a local mosque in the early hours of Thursday,” said Amin Ahsan, a long-time friend, who attended the prayers.

Abubaker is survived by his wife, Mumtaz, who lives in India; his son Mohammed Mahfooz, 28, who works in Ras Al Khaimah; and two daughters, Khadeeja Mafhooma, 24, and Hawwa Mubashira, 16.

Abubaker worked at schools in the UAE for nearly 25 years until his death, with his first stint as principal at the New Model Indian School in Dubai in 1997. He later worked at various Indian schools in Ajman, Sharjah, Dubai and Al Ain. He also briefly worked at an Indian school in Thailand.

He joined Scholars Indian School in 2006, where he worked until his death.

“For the past 14 years, he has worked with tireless energy and passion to drive our school to greater and greater heights,” said Habibur Rahman Mundol, chairman of the school.

In addition to being principal, Abubaker worked as a counsellor for Central Board of Secondary Education pupils on matters related to behavioural, emotional, social and academic issues.

He was also treasurer for Gulf Sahodaya, a body of CBSE school principals from GCC countries, and was an honorary director of Diamond International School in his native village.

Mohammed Abubaker, second from left, with his son Mohammed Mahfooz, left, wife Mumtaz Abubaker, centre, daughters Khadeeja Mafhooma, second right, and Hawwa Mubashira, right. Courtesy: Abubaker family

Early in his career, he worked at schools in and around his home town for nearly 15 years before crossing the Arabian Sea. He was much loved by his pupils around the world.

"I was his pupil at Thumbe BA College and he ... gave a lot of importance to discipline and morals," Mubarak P D, who is now in Abu Dhabi, told The National.

"We reconnected after I came to the UAE about 10 years back. Every now and then he would send or forward me informative and inspirational quotes on WhatsApp. He said 'assalam alaikum' on the eve of his death on WhatsApp. Looked like he had something important to share with me. But in the middle of my work, I forgot to send a reply," Mr Mubarak said.

“I will have to live with this sense of regret for the rest of my life,” he said.

A deeply religious man, Abubaker would often post about Islamic teachings on his social media accounts, with a special emphasis on life after death. Over the past year, he published about 20 episodes of Quranic lessons in his regional lndian language of Kannada, on his YouTube channel.

A day before his death, he shared a post titled "Nine regrets after you die" containing Quranic verses.

His friends and family said Abubaker appeared to have a premonition about his death.

"Looks like he knew that death was lurking in the corner. I could sense a tinge of sadness in his voice during my interactions with him for the past few weeks," his son said.

“On Friday, he was talking repeatedly about death and the life hereafter. He kept telling me that he would be gone soon and asked me to prepare for a life without him.

“Of course, it’s an irreplaceable loss, but we have to surrender to the will of Allah. He was an amazing father to all the three children,” Mr Mahfooz said.

His death shocked pupils and parents at Scholars Indian School.

Mubashir Hidayat, a Grade 5 pupil at the school, recalled how Abubaker helped to calm his nerves during admissions two years ago.

“He asked me to sing a song and he sang along with me. He was very friendly and kind. He loved the students like his own children,” Mubashir said.

Mubashir's elder brother Shahid shared similar sentiments, saying the principal's death was “a great loss to a lot of people, mainly because he was a very supportive, encouraging and caring person".

“Every day, at the end of school hours, he would stand near the exit point and talk with students, meet parents and help us if we’re going through bad times”, the Grade 8 pupil, from Kerala, said. “Definitely we will miss him.”