KARACHI: The Aga Khan University Examination Board (AKU-EB) on Wednesday announced results for its Secondary and Higher Secondary School Certifications for the May 2016 examination session.

This year, the AKU-EB assessed students in 95 subjects across 23 cities in Pakistan.

The overall passing rate for SSC Part I has been 85.5 per cent with 46.7pc of candidates scoring Grade A and above.

Meanwhile, the overall passing rate for SSC Part II was 88.8pc with 55.6pc of candidates obtaining Grade A and above.

Alina Fatima of Al-Murtaza School, Karachi and Hira Naz of Aga Khan Higher Secondary School, Kuragh (Chitral, KPK) scored 93.36pc and secured the first position for the SSC. Alina also gained the second position in the elective subjects of the Science group along with Ali Mehdi from IBA Community College, Khairpur.

“I hail from Lutkoh, Chitral. I am aware that it is a challenge for females to get good education in my area but I would like to thank my parents for their support and efforts. In the AKU-EB system we learnt how to apply our learning in daily life, which helped us feel confident about our knowledge. I want to be a neurologist. I am also eager to do philanthropic work in under privileged areas of country,” said Hira Naz.

Ruhaina Nadeem from Nasra School (Malir campus, Karachi) secured the second position for SSC with a score of 93.18pc. Shehla Tanveer from Maryam Siddiqa Girls Higher Secondary School, Chenab Nagar (Punjab) and Maryam Ihsan from Nusrat Jahan Academy Girls High School, Chanab Nagar, scored the third position in SSC with a score of 92.6pc. Maryam also gained first position in the elective subjects of the Science Group.

Komal Fatima from Habib Girls’ School, Karachi, secured the first position in elective subjects of the Humanities group.

The first position in the Higher Secondary School Certification (HSSC) has been secured by Areej Al Medinah from Aga Khan Higher Secondary School Karimabad, Karachi. She did not only achieve the overall first position in HSSC with 91.63pc but also gained second position in the elective subjects of the Pre-Engineering group.

“Gaining an education as a part of AKU-EB was a challenge in itself, but never a difficulty. With AKU-EB’s application, understanding and knowledge scheme discouraging the rote system, we have been successfully instilled with the ability to comprehend and tackle real life problems and issues. We are definitely well prepared for higher education and for the betterment of Pakistan,” said Areej Al Medinah.

The second position holder for HSSC, Areeba Mohammed scored 91.36pc. She also gained the first position in the elective subjects of the Pre-Engineering Group. Fatima Mohammed Asad from Aga Khan Higher Secondary School Karimabad, Karachi secured the overall third position in HSSC with a score of 91.27pc. She also stood third in the Pre-Medical elective subjects.

HSSC group-wise position holders for elective subjects include Duaa Ahmed from Aga Khan Higher Secondary School Karimabad, Karachi and Mohammed Ghazanfar Sakrani from Habib Public School(Commerce), Areeba Altaf from Habib Girls’ School (Humanities), Abdul Manan from Nasir Higher Secondary School, Chenab Nagar (General Science) and Simran Kumari from Habib Girls School (Pre-Medical).

This year the passing rate for HSSC Part I is 86.6pc with 45.1pc candidates scoring Grade A and above. The passing rate for HSSC Part II is 84.5pc with 47.5pc candidates obtaining the Grade A and above.

While congratulating the successful candidates for their hard work, Dr Shehzad Jeeva, director, AKU-EB, said that they at AKU-EB were looking to develop higher order cognitive skills such as critical thinking in their students and firmly believed that assessment was a driving force for new ways of learning.

Published in Dawn, July 14th, 2016