Hats off to young achiever despite adversity
A Student of Government High School, Okara District bagged second position in matriculation-Used to walk 7-km daily to reach his school!!
LAHORE: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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Hats off to young achiever despite adversity
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
By Saadia Khalid
Islamabad
All praise for 17-year-old Naveed Asif, who after getting second position in the Board of Intermediate & Secondary Education (BISE), Lahore, proved that one could achieve the highest targets through hard work and determination despite unfavourable circumstances.
Social connectivity sites, including Facebook, these days are full of pictures and write-ups to honour the achievement of this young boy. The youngsters are writing comments and forwarding the post regarding Naveed.
According to the youth, this young boy from Nahranwali village, Okara is undoubtedly a source of pride for the whole nation and inspiration for the youth. Despite his school being seven kilometres away from his house, which he used to reach on foot every day, Naveed scored 919 marks in Matric in the Humanities group of boys and got second position in BISE Lahore.
According to the reports, on the day of the event organised to honour the position holders, the boy entered the spacious Alhamra Hall, Lahore, unnoticed in his ragged clothes and worn out sandals. It was a function where everyone was dressed up and entered with an utter sense of pride. Probably Naveed didn’t know that his achievement was worth a pride. After looking around for a while, he could not find a seat for himself and preferred to sit on the stairs.
Naveed Asif is an orphan and his mother works as a labourer to bear his educational expenses. It was something unbelievable for the two when they were told about Naveed’s achievement. “We were really terrified by the door knock late night and it was astonishing to know that the BISE team actually visited my place to inform me about my position. My happiness knew no bounds but my mother’s happiness was far greater than mine. It was just like a dream come true,” he said. “You may deem it ridiculous but I ever said to my mother that I wanted to be like Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah, as I ever considered him my role model,” he said.
Naveed had received a huge round of applause as he narrated his circumstances to Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif during the ceremony. His inspiring achievement moved the CM to make an announcement of financial assistance for this ambitious student,
ordering the Punjab government to transfer Rs3 million in his account, so he could continue his studies.
The achievement of Naveed Asif has been highlighted by the newspapers, TV channels and magazines as well as on websites and several social connectivity sites but it fuelled a heated discussion and raised many questions, such as if a boy living in a village - deprived of the basic facilities and studying in a government school - could bring such laurels, why not the rest of the youth, who are bestowed with all such blessings? Why the rest of the youth does not want to become like Quaid-e-Azam? Why do we not try to get the best of what is available rather criticising the system?
It is still not evident as to what will come out of such discussions but hats off to this young achiever, who made all of us feel proud, as he achieved what he aspired for instead of criticising the system or the circumstances.
