ISEO 2012: Students checkmate their opponents while others show off their ability to rhyme

3,000 students are taking part in the five-day International Schools Educational Olympiad.


Rabia Ali January 31, 2012

KARACHI: Pakistan may be obsessed with cricket, but at the International Schools Educational Olympiad (ISEO) the chess tables are the biggest attraction.

Karachi High School, the organiser, claims ISEO is the largest inter-school event in the country with more than 100 schools and 3,000 students taking part in the five-day tournament.

Around 51 chess players are competing with some strong female contestants. Afroz Muhammad, 11, from the SMB Fatima Jinnah School, seemed determined to win the tournament on Tuesday. “My father used to play chess at home. My interest in chess also developed when singer Shehzad Roy introduced chess classes at our school,” she said, before focusing her entire attention on her match.

Chess player Shahzad Mirza, who was judging the tournament, believes that, “Chess is gaining popularity among students at a time when computers have taken over physical activity. These kids have a lot of potential. They just need a push from their schools, and the government to support them.”

In one of the classrooms, back-to-back chess games were being played by anxious students, who clocked their every move. Tabish Imran from St Patrick’s School relaxed after beating his opponent in a minute. “I am happy to finally win a game after losing two,” he said.

It’s not all about the pawns though. There are a host of events lined up, from singing to Scrabble competitions. A cyber fair and a technology quiz are also on the agenda for the techies in the crowd.

The opening ceremony also had a touch of theatre and bonhomie as students of Karachi High School sang songs to welcome the participants while teachers from different schools lit candles as a symbol of harmony. Noted music composer and chief guest Arshad Mehmood was given a lifetime achievement award to a standing ovation.

Mehmood was delighted that students were expressing themselves through poetry and literature. “It is great to see so much talent here. One day these children will make a mark in fine arts and make their country proud.”

The headlines and the media filtered in to the ISEO as well. A group of O’ Level students from Jaffar Public School was confident about the film they had made on the aerial firing on New Year’s Eve would win. “We wanted to focus on that subject because people dying in aerial firing are not highlighted much. The film is about a boy who accidentally kills his friend and then commits suicide,” explained Hasan Iqbal, who also plays the main lead. His group came in third in the filmmaking competition last year, but they are now aiming to bag the top prize.

The ISEO features its own version of the media. A group of students from the host school are acting as reporters and interviewed students and teachers with microphones and cameras in tow. “We can’t participate in the events but we perform before the main events - such as being in the choir, or acting as reporters,” said Marium Ali, a student of the 8th grade.

Every school team was headed by a group leader, who is a faculty member of the same institution. Sameen, a teacher from DA School, said that events like this not only benefit students but the teachers, who get to interact with their peers and learn about different educational systems.

While two intermediate students from Bahria College put on a folklore-inspired performance of “Laila Majnu”, ten students participated in an elocution contest of Urdu prose and poetry. A student of Aitchison College recited Faiz Ahmed Faiz’s ‘Nisar mein teri Galiyon’, while another student, Bisam, recited his own poem ‘Kab aaye ga Quaid jaisa koi’ to a volley of applause.

Karachi High School Principal Parveen Kassim says that she was inspired by an Olympiad she saw in India. “In 1997, I visited one of the top schools in Lucknow and was blown away by the educational Olympiad there. This school was using all of its resources on educational events.”

Three years later, she initiated the ISEO at the Karachi High School. It was initially an Interschool Schools Educational Olympiad, which later took on a regional feel. “We had students coming from Calcutta, Lucknow and Delhi. In 2004, the Indian students were very emotional at their departure and left with teary eyes.”

While issues with visas and Indo-Pak ties have kept Indian students away, the security situation in Karachi has prevented residents of other cities. “People are scared to come to Karachi. We once had 10 to 15 teams coming from Islamabad, Lahore, Rawalpindi and Hyderabad. Now we just have three teams from other cities.”

While Kassim feels that the event is improving with every passing year, it is difficult to organise due to the lack of funds. The schools are not charged for registering in the competition. “If Veena Malik was coming here people would spend money to organise it. But no one wants to come forward to promote educational events.”

Published in The Express Tribune, February 1st, 2012.

COMMENTS (6)

Tahir Jawaid | 12 years ago | Reply

It is a great initiative to get all the schools from various segments to come together and be involved in extra curricular activities, ISEO is providing a great platform.

Farzan | 12 years ago | Reply

Nice to read that such activites do exist. Its a great idea for promoting talent among students. Good job.

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