As if acing their Cambridge International Examination wasn’t enough, they’re ready to take on the world. Opinionated and upfront, the high achievers of Roots School System Satellite Town campus shared with The Express Tribune their visions for a brighter future at a grand event held at Pakistan National Council of the Arts on Friday.
Commemorating the landmark, the school pulled together an exquisite show; pastel bouquets and drapes adorned the stage and ambient music echoed down the hall.
Rootsians enthralled the audience with an eclectic mix of German dance, Western rhythmic dance, Chinese fan dance, qawwali and recitals based on Iqbal’s poetry. Strumming on electric guitars, two students performed a medley of Bulleh Shah’s kalaam.
The attention to detail in props, garb and makeup was impressive, and the execution, prompt.
A talk with the high achievers
Just like the infringing evils in the mime show narrating the Greek myth of Pandora’s Box, these students talked about global issues like illiteracy, unemployment, corruption and poverty plaguing society.
Muhammad Shahwez, who bagged five straight As in his A-level exams, thinks terrorism is the root cause of all social evils and aims to combat it through enlightening a generation of peaceful citizens.
“There is a looming sense of terror everywhere you go, we live under constant fear uncertainty. I want to [revise the matric curriculum to] bring Matric students at par with international standards.”
Sporting a maroon school council sashay, Zainab Farooq, who excelled with 6 As in O levels and 3 A’s in AS, aspires to become a doctor. She feels strongly about the enrolment and employment criteria in the county, “I’m applying to universities and it’s an ordeal since all medical schools follow the FSc criteria for admissions. Even after scoring over 95 per cent, I’m struggling to get in. So the system needs to be rehashed.”
Aftab Alam scored 5 As in O levels and thinks the country needs get rid of pollution and corruption.
Having volunteered in Boy Scouts and other programmes including an exchange visit to Germany, he has participated in small-scale uplift projects for the underprivileged, particularly in his native area of Gilgit.
Vocal about the state of affairs, Fahad Saboor, who scored five straight A’s in O levels, said, “I think the government needs to give more power to the students.
Each individual needs to play their part. Incentives and extra points should be given to help make a concerted effort to eradicate corruption.”
Equipped with quality education, these kids still have a long way to go and a grasp of their surroundings will help them evolve into well-rounded individuals. Add the will to survive in great adversity, and the society is wide open for them to change.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 27th, 2011.
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