Here is another occasion to smile. Last month we celebrated with Shah Faisal of Kashmir who became fourth Indian Muslim and first person from J&K to top the list of those who cleared the prestigious UPSC competitive examination. That may be categorised as the feat of an individual. This time the spectrum is broader and has many layers to bring smile. I was thrilled by the headlines in national dailies: “CBSE CLASS XII RESULTS: At 89.12%, Urdu Schools race ahead”, “Breaking the language barrier, Govt Schools pass rate: 88.87%: Result of 2 out of 12 Urdu Medium Schools in Delhi is 100% pass, Pass rate in 2006 was only 66.73%”. Another headline read as: “Tailor’s daughter comes out with flying colours.”
A great turnaround as in Urdu medium schools a decade before, in 2000, the pass percentage was merely 31%. From 31% to 89.12% looks an unbelievable miracle but it could happen only by awakening calls of philanthropists and education activists. These calls enthused the students, teachers and to some extent managements of these schools. We can dedicate the success to the hard working and dedicated Principals and teachers who not only toiled with their students but also succeeded in instilling a sense of confidence and urge for education in their students, most of whom came from middle or below middle class families with no educational background.
We congratulate the Principals for their leadership, teachers for their hard work and of course students and their parents but with a word of caution – this is merely a beginning. These efforts will have to continue in coming years to level the deficit the Muslim minority has in the field.
This turnaround has another silver lining. Our daughters have brought more proud and joy to the families and the community. A real cause of satisfaction that breaks the myth: ‘Muslim women are backward in education.’
Indian Express reported on Sunday, May 23: “In 2000, city’s Urdu medium schools registered a dismal pass percentage of 31 for the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) Class XII examination. A decade later it has shot up to a remarkable 89.12 per cent, which is more than that of government-run and private unaided schools. This is the second year in a row that the Urdu medium schools have fared better than others. Only four years ago the Urdu medium schools in the city registered an overall pass percentage of only 66.73.
“In 2007, they showed a 12 per cent increase. Last year, the schools had pass percentage of 88.7, a shade ahead of the government schools, or Government aided schools which stood at 87.14 per cent.”
Chinki Sinha further writes in her report, “This year, the government schools in the Capital recorded an overall pass percentage of 88.87.While Urdu Medium Schools recorded 89.12% passed.”
Two of the 12 Urdu medium schools with senior secondary sections have declared a 100 per cent result: Zeenat Mahal Girls’ School SKV No 2, and GBSSS Jafrabad (in Trans Yamuna area). SKV Jama Masjid No 2 has a result of 97% passed. Another Muslim Girls school that fetches its students from Muslim families in the walled city, The Rabia Girls Senior Secondary School, Ballimaran has also registered 100% results.
Zeenat Mahal School is special, whose pass rate stood at 61 per cent in 2006, jumped to 100 per cent in 2008. This year, only 42 Girls took the exams and all crossed the barrier to keep the 100% intact. Now the school will give more attention on excellence and higher percentage of marks. Students credit their teachers for their success who translate lessons for them from Hindi books.
Ilma Mukhtar, 16, who scored around 88 per cent in the best four subjects, said teachers at her school – SKV Jama Masjid No 2 – were very helpful. They often helped translate lessons from Hindi books as Urdu textbooks are not available.
On May 22, Ilma said her teachers would help the students with political science, a subject she struggled with. With no trained teachers available for the subject at the school, the authorities arranged with the Directorate of Education to have a teacher from another school to teach the subject to the students.
“They should publish more Urdu medium books. That’s one area where we are really lagging,” Ilma said. Her school has an overall pass percentage of 97 this year.
The teachers have also been trying to convince parents to send their children to school. As most students come from educationally backward and economically weaker sections, the parents cannot afford private tuitions. There are many teachers who hold extra classes without any charge.
Odd conditions and official apathy could not stop Urdu Medium Girls Schools to perform great. It is why our daughters like Atiya Jabeen and Daniya Alvi made stories in the national media by their excellent performance.
Atiya Jabeen scored 88 per cent with distinction in all five subjects. Her father is a mediocre tailor. She sits beside him till late nights. Father will quietly stitch cloths and daughter will work with her books and notes under the same lamp. The old man has a dream for her daughter. He toiled hard to earn enough to support his education-savvy daughter so that she could finish school education and go to college. On May 21, when almost illiterate tailor Jamil Ahmad walked out of a cyber-café with his daughter, in the Chawri Bazar locality in the Walled City after checking her results, father and daughter had real reason to be jubilant. Dedication and hard work had overcome all odds and paid handsomely. Atiya was a student of Urdu-medium SKV Jama Masjid Urdu Medium No 2 School. To me Jamil Ahmad and Atiya Jabeen are the ‘Real Heroes.’
Atiya Jabeen, who opted for Humanities, faced an uphill battle with English and political science. The school had no teachers for both subjects. In the 15 days leading up to the exams, she took private tuitions for English.
At her school, 97 per cent students cleared the exams. Principal Shabana Nazir said the school could have secured a 100 per cent overall pass percentage had it not been for the lack of teachers and textbooks, the usual set of problems Urdu-medium schools face.
“There were no sample papers available for Urdu Medium Class XII examinations. It was difficult for us to guess. One political science teacher came to the school in the last month but she was from another school and took classes only for three days a week,” she said.
The story of another girl Daniya Alvi also thrills the reader. She is a student of same Jama Masjid Sarvodaya Kanya Vidyalaya No. 2. She had scored about 60 per cent marks. Like other students of Urdu-medium schools, staying in school for her also has been an uphill task. She took tuitions to help the family, staying up late in the night in their one-room home in Chandni Chowk, translating Hindi books into Urdu, hoping to make her family proud. And she did. Her mother, Ruby Anwar, said she would let Daniya continue with her studies even though the family was planning to get her married.
“Yes, we have talked with the groom’s family. I want to continue my studies and want to become a teacher,” 18-year-old Alvi said. “I am really happy with my results though I expected more. But this means I can continue with my studies.”
At Zeenat Mahal Sarvodaya Girls Senior School in Jaffrabad, the pass percentage – at 98.08 per cent – surpassed expectations. The school, which often held classes in corridors, has more than 4,000 students, has clocked an increase of almost 8.08 per cent over last year’s results. Principal Razia Begum said, “We have struggled against all odds.” However she acknowledged that recently the Directorate of Education has done a lot for her school. But she complains: “the political will is lacking.”
She complained, “We have too many problems. We need so much but at least we have performed in such conditions.” She praised her staff for “commendable work.” Begum said she enthused her teachers to work with students and exercised vigilance and introduced extra-curricular activities for students so they could focus better. “We told children they needed to perform to make their lives different,” she said. Razia Begum has reason to smile as 121 students out of 200 who took the examinations scored first division.
At Jama Masjid Gate No. 2 School, success was repeated with an overall pass percentage of 98. Last year, it had a 100 per cent result. Principal Shabana Nazir said there was only one student who requires compartment in English. “Otherwise, our results would have been 100 per cent,” she said.
As per data available, Government Sarvodaya Bal Vidyalaya, Pataudi House, Darya Ganj held top most position with 100 per cent results. For the last six years, the school’s Urdu-medium wing has been registering 100 per cent pass. This is despite the fact that students struggle with lack of textbooks, trained teachers and proper infrastructure.
Principal Jameel-ur-Rehman said though results have been good, quality is suffering. “Students are weak in English. We didn’t have an English teacher for a year. We hired someone from school funds to help the students. The Urdu-medium schools are dying a slow death.”
Education Secretary Rina Ray, who is said to have focused on Urdu-medium schools by providing them with funds for textbooks, was pleased with the results. She hoped the overall pass percentage, after the students, who have compartments, clearing the exams, would be around 90 per cent.
Most of about 19 Urdu-medium schools, including government-aided schools, are concentrated in the Walled City and lack infrastructure. Most of the students come from congested areas and do not have proper facilities to study at home. Girl students also have to help in daily chorus of household. In spite of all odds, these good results speak a lot in the aptitude of Muslim girls and their parents.
The upward jump of Urdu medium schools is more significant as CBSE Class XII results saw an overall dip in the success rate of students this year, with 79.87% of those appearing in the Board examination clearing it as against 81% last year.
Certain Muslim girls in other schools also show great results. Khizra Bi Chandna of Rabia Girls School scored 84% marks in Commerce Group with distinction marks in all five subjects. Tehreem Naaz, a student of Humanities stream of the same school, scored 84% marks with distinction in four subjects. In Science stream Wajiha Mehtab earned 82% marks with distinction marks in four subjects. Juhi Naseem of DPS, Mathura Road, scored 92.2% marks in Commerce. She had earned distinction marks in all five subjects. Saba Hamid of Convent GSS School scored 90% in Commerce. Anam Bint Shahid of Dr. Zakir Hussain SS School of Jafrabad scored 73% in Arts Stream. Results of individual students are pouring slowly. We hope more gems in the students who have cleared their class XII hurdle this year.
This an overall view, based on the reports published in newspapers. This requires a detailed study of all schools, pinpoint the weaknesses and suggest remedies and continue efforts on the path of success. Let us see how and who comes forward to do it?
[The writer is Gen Sec of Forum for Civil Rights, email: [email protected]]