MITHI : No fewer than 4,000 students turned up to take a test of their knowledge, talent and interest in education organised by the departments of education, monitoring & evaluation, local government and a conglomerate of several community-based organisations, the Thar Education Alliance (TEA).

It was the first ever test of its kind held in Thar and to the pleasant surprise of the organisers as well, more than 4,000 students of public and private educational institutions turned up to take it.

The test was held in two sessions, one for the students of class IV to VII — in which as many as 1,919 candidates appeared — and the other for students of class-VIII and above — which drew 2,087 candidates.

More interestingly, 3,084 candidates appeared to be male dispelling the impression that males take less interest in education and examinations. Participation of more than 922 female candidates was also heartening for those working for promotion of women education in a downtrodden region like Tharparkar.

The test was held in an organised manner for which tents were pitched and chairs were arranged for candidates in the specious ground of Shaheed Benazir Bhutto Cultural Complex in Mithi.

The students solved MCQs with keen interest, organisers said, adding that the results would be announced on Feb 14 and 15.

The highest scorers would be awarded laptops and tablets at the Thar Science Festival and the top-10 would also be given shields and commendation certificates, they said.

Chief monitoring officer Samiullah Sanjrani acknowledged great efforts on the part of teachers and parents of students in encouraging and preparing such a large number of students to take the test.

Partab Shivani of the TEA expressed his pleasure over the until now unexplored trend and noted that all candidates belonged to Tharparkar and many of them came from distant parts of the district.

Published in Dawn, January 30th, 2018