Dubai: Dubai student Kulsoom Tariq, has stood first from among 19,000 students from 1,100 Pakistani schools around the world who sat for Islamabad’s Secondary School Certificate (SSC) 2014 examination.
After securing the highest marks in the Federal Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education, Islamabad, SSC examination, the Pakistani 16-year-old said she hopes to use her education to change people’s mind-set in the country.
The Pakistani who was honoured by her school, H.H Shaikh Rashid Al Maktoum Pakistan School on Thursday, believes many from her country are constrained by pressure from parents who don’t allow their children to choose their line of study or take decisions with regards to their lives.
“I stood first in the humanitarian stream. I got a total of 969 out of 1,100 after completing two-year examinations in economics, computer science and general science. What helped me was that my parents were open-minded and supported me in my education-related choices,” said Kulsoom.
But other parents, she said, don’t give their children the luxury of choosing what they want to study, leading students to become demotivated and so, underperform in school.
“Parents force their children to choose the science stream because they want them to become doctors or engineers. They have no respect for the arts or literature streams. I think this contributes in a big way to the unsatisfactory performance of Pakistani schools in the annual school inspections.”
According to the Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA), Pakistani schools have underperformed in inspections, receiving an ‘unsatisfactory’ ranking year after year.
Kulsoom also believes that teachers in Pakistani schools are not doing enough to motivate students.
“I am currently studying psychology at the Pakistan Education Academy and after that; I want to major in educational psychology at university. I choose this subject after seeing students become indifferent about their education since they were not doing what they loved.”
Kulsoom said in her case, she was able to excel because she spared no effort in her studies and ensured that she revised all her subjects with diligence.
Her advice to students who wish to excel in their board exams is to follow their passion and study hard.
Kulsoom’s mother said she was ecstatic when she learnt about her child’s achievement, but not surprised.
“I expected it because my daughter always did well in school. I did not force her to pick a particular stream, because all I care about is for her to get an education. It doesn’t matter what type it is as long as she is happy.”
