THE Government High School, Nehranwala, Okara District is a typical village school beset with numerous problems but it made headlines recently when one of its students bagged the second position in matriculation examination and received a prize of Rs 3 million from Punjab chief minister Shahbaz Sharif.
Muhammad Naveed Asif clinched the second position in Humanities Group of matriculation examination of the Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education (BISE) Lahore by scoring 919 marks.
He might have topped the Science Group provided science subjects were taught in his school which could not be offered there owing to shortage of science teachers.
The school is located around 25 kilometres from main city of Okara while its distance from Naveed’s residence is around seven kilometres.
At least 18 students from this school appeared in the matriculation examination and all of them passed and 13 secured high first division.
Interestingly, none of them went to any academy and all of them were taught by their schoolteachers. The success-story of Naveed and others is certainly an eye-opener for all of us especially those living in cities where tuition culture has penetrated and parents are being fleeced in the name of individual attention.
“Our school could have produced similar results in Sciences provided we had science teachers,” said Muhammad Azeem, the in-charge headmaster of the school.
This correspondent had the opportunity to visit Nehranwala village recently. One can realise Naveed’s laborious journey to the school on a daily basis only after having a round of muddy and bumpy roads. On rainy days, this young child like many others had to cover the distance on foot as it was impossible to ride a bicycle under such circumstances.
Besides domestic chores, Naveed used to work in fields and harvested fodder to support his family. Unfavourable circumstances, including worst power crisis, could not curb Naveed’s enthusiasm to learn and excel. “I used to study in the light of lantern without caring about outages,” he said. Outages were a non-issue for when I studied, he said.
“You may think its ridiculous but I always said to my mother that I wanted to be like Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah,” he said. “Quaid-e-Azam is a role model for me,” he added.
“I came to Lahore for the first time when I was invited to attend the prize distribution ceremony,” he said. “I could not even manage to have a seat at Alhamra Hall so I preferred sitting on stairs. I was really surprised when the chief minister called me on the podium and offered me his own chair,” he said. “I was so surprised to see the chief minister standing before me that I forgot my marks. I might have forgotten my name at that moment,” he said recalling how excited he became on receiving a prize and medal from the chief minister. He said he was stunned by the support and encouragement he received from the CM. “I had never thought that I would see the chief minister of the province face to face,” he remarked.
“I and my mother were really terrified when BISE Lahore team reached our home late at night before announcement of the result.” “Actually a few days ago, our cow was stolen at night owing to which we were terrified,” he said.
“My father died when I was a child. My elder sister died of heart attack recently,” he said adding the financial support of Rs 3 million extended by the chief minister would certainly help my poor family to survive.
The initiatives being taken by the chief minister for encouragement of top scorers would certainly go a long way in promotion of education, he remarked adding “this is also promoting a sense of competition among students”.
“Mathematics is my favourite subject that is why I got 145 out of 150 marks in this subject,” he said. Naveed gave the credit for his brilliant performance to his mother and teachers. “My teachers were very friendly and always answered all of my queries,” he said and added “they even taught us during holidays”. He said he had plans to study either at the Government College University (GCU) Lahore or FC College University for intermediate level studies adding he looked forward to becoming a software engineer in the future.
Asked if he had any demands from the government, he said: “There is dire need of a hospital and a high school for girls in my village. You know women have a pivotal role to in nation building,” he said adding “we have only a primary school for girls in our area”.
Talking to The News, the mother of Naveed said the chief minister not only announced a prize of Rs 3 million for her son but also sent a bouquet of flowers for Naveed and his teachers through a senior government officer recently.
Zubair Tabassum, one of Naveed’s teachers, said Naveed was a very hard working student and he clinched the second position in Lahore Board exams against all odds. He also praised the CM for steps he was taking for encouragement of top scorers, saying this would certainly leave a positive impact on the overall education system.
Muhammad Azeem was of the view that study tour of top scorers to world renowned universities would not only boost confidence among them but would also inculcate in them a spirit of competition.
“Our students are anxiously waiting for computers,” he said referring to the Punjab government’s flagship programme of setting up computer labs in over 4,000 high and higher secondary schools across the province. He said establishment of the Punjab Educational Endowment Fund (PEEF) was another milestone achieved by the Punjab government.
EDO Education Okara Nasim Mansoor was of the view that steps being taken by the CM for promotion of education and encouragement of talented students were in fact like laying the foundation of a soft revolution.
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