Abu Dhabi: The real asset of any advanced nation is its people, especially those with education, the UAE’s founding father, Shaikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan, famously said. And, in keeping with the high value placed on education in the country, 150 pupils who earned top marks this academic year were today honoured in the capital.
The honorees, who were feted in a ceremony at the Emirates Palace Hotel, scored 98 per cent or higher in the UAE Ministry of Education Grade 12 exams for the 2013-2014 academic year. Six pupils with special needs, such as visual impairment and physical disability, who earned 95 per cent or more, were also recognised.
As reported by Gulf News on July 1, 36,621 pupils from public and private schools across the country sat for the UAE Ministry of Education curriculum Grade 12 exams this academic year. Among them, 24,742 were in the Literary stream, and 67.8 per cent of these passed the exam. Another 11,879 were enrolled in the Science stream, and recorded a pass rate of 89.4 per cent.
Last Tuesday, the names of 31 top scorers were announced on the UAE Government’s YouTube page. Emirati Mariam Al Maslahi, 17, topped the Literary stream with 99.92 per cent, while 18-year-old Ahmad Shaheen from Egypt received the highest grade in the Science stream with 99.85 per cent.
Today, the highest achievers from every educational zone were each awarded Dh20,000, as granted by President His Highness Shaikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan.
The ceremony was held under the patronage of Shaikh Mansour Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, UAE Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Affairs, and also attended by numerous dignitaries, including Hussain Al Hammadi, UAE Minister of Education, and Dr Amal Al Qubaisi, director- general at the Abu Dhabi Education Council.
“My parents are really old and I am the youngest among 10 sisters and two brothers. So, everyone was really proud when I achieved the best marks in my family,” Fatima Abdullah Markhan, an Emirati from Umm Al Quwain who scored 98.9 per cent in the Literary stream, told Gulf News.
Fatima said she hopes to use the financial award towards her education, and become an inspirational teacher in the future.
Another set of proud parents surrounded Sara Mohammad, a 17-year-old from Egypt who is bound to a wheelchair and was one of the special needs pupils awarded. She achieved 97.6 per cent in the Literary stream.
Ahmad Sayed, 17, from Egypt, earned 99.8 per cent in the Science stream, and said he hoped to go on and study medicine at the University of Sharjah.
“I am very grateful for the award, which is an encouragement for me to achieve my dream of treating the ill and giving them a new lease on life,” he said.
