Dubai teacher who spent 33 years with GEMS dies; scholarship planned in her honour

A long-serving Dubai teacher who spent 33 years with GEMS Education has died, with The Westminster School community remembering her as a much-loved educator who touched generations of students.

Anjana Sanalkumar, a teacher at The Westminster School (TWS), was also listed by the school as an examination officer. The cause and location of her death is unknown as of now.

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Sanalkumar spent more than three decades with GEMS Education, building a long career at the Dubai school and becoming a familiar figure to generations of students, parents and colleagues.

Her death has prompted an outpouring of tributes from the school community, with TWS inviting those who knew her to share their memories and messages.

School community invited to remember teacher

In a post shared on its social media channels, The Westminster School described the memorial as an opportunity to remember and celebrate Sanalkumar’s life and the impact she had on those around her.

“As we come together to remember and celebrate the life of Ms. Anjana, we invite everyone who knew and loved her to share a heartfelt message, memory, or a few words in her honor in the comments.”

The school also acknowledged that not everyone who wanted to pay their respects would be able to attend in person.

“Though distance may keep us from gathering together in person, it does not have to keep us apart in remembering her.”

For those unable to attend, the school said the memorial service would be livestreamed.

Memorial scholarship planned in her honour

A parent who declined to be named said GEMS Education had also announced plans to create a lasting legacy in Sanalkumar’s memory.

“Amid the tributes, GEMS Education in a letter announced plans to honour her service with a lasting legacy. The group intends to establish the Anjana Sanalkumar Memorial Scholarship at The Westminster School.”

The proposed scholarship would provide a lasting connection between Sanalkumar’s long career in education and the generations of students she helped teach and guide.

Sanalkumar’s 33-year association with GEMS Education marks a significant chapter in Dubai’s education community, where long-serving teachers often become familiar faces to successive generations of families.

Her career at The Westminster School also spanned decades of change in Dubai’s private-school sector, as the emirate’s education landscape expanded and school communities grew.

Memorial service to be held on Thursday

The memorial service is scheduled for Thursday, October 8, at 3pm.

The school said the service would allow members of its wider community, including those who could not be physically present, to come together to remember Sanalkumar.

“Your words, memories, and presence — near or far — mean more than we can express,” the school said.

“Thank you for helping us honor and celebrate a life that touched so many.”

The school has invited former students, parents, colleagues and others who knew Sanalkumar to share their memories as the Westminster community comes together to pay tribute to a teacher whose professional life was closely connected with generations of pupils in Dubai.