After years, boys clinch top positions in Matric science results

Hamza Khan of Usman Public School bags first position

KARACHI: The Matric science group results took everyone by surprise on Friday when it was announced that the top positions were secured by boys instead of girls.

All the three positions were bagged by male candidates after a long time, said Board of Secondary Education, Karachi (BSEK), chairperson Anwar Ahmed Zai, as he announced the Matric annual results for 2016 in which 150,294 students appeared. "These boys have made us proud and proved that they are nowhere behind girls," he said.

Usman Public School student Muhammad Hamza Khan bagged the first position, securing 93.88% marks. The second position was claimed by Sikandar Ali Khokhar of St Patrick's Secondary School with 93.64% and the third position was secured by Abdul Ahad of SM Public Academy, who got 93.52%.



"I never took any tuition to study and always believed in my hard work," said the first position holder, Khan. He has always received the highest marks at school and had aimed to bag the first position.

The board also announced cash prizes for the position holders - Rs50,000 for the first place, Rs30,000 for the second place and Rs20,000 for the third. All the nine position holders for the science, general and special group will be taken to a visit of the Quaid's mazar on August 14, said Zai. "The visit will help motivate them to work for their country as they are the future of this bright nation," he said. Cricketer Moin Khan, who was the chief guest at the announcement ceremony, also congratulated the students. "One has to believe in their hard work and be confident on what they do," he said. "Your confidence is the key to success."

Increase in passing percentage

The passing percentage for the science group has been increased by 5% this year. Last year, the passing percentage was 69.7%.

The BSEK has a scale that works parallel to the students' hard work, explained Zai. "There is nothing like leniency from the side of the board," he added.

A total of 11,470 students received an A-1 grade, which is 7.63% of the total students who passed. Meanwhile, 16.91% of the students, which is 25,240 students, managed to secure an A grade. Moreover, 22.11% and 19.35% of the students received B and C grades, respectively, while 12,302 candidates received D grades.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 6^th, 2016.