KARACHI, Oct 5: Top position holders of HSC Humanities (Private) Part-II annual examinations, who also happened to be students of madressahs, said seminaries were undermined only by people who were not acquainted with the functioning and academic environment of the institutions.

They said that religious education institutions were equally good for Muslim students and the societies of today, and that madressahs never inculcated extremism, hatred or sectarianism.

Quarters in the government disparaging the role of madressahs should have a closer look, the students said. They called on them to correct their theories, and not to base them on mere hearsay and images depicted by foreign sources serving quarters with vested interest.

The Board of Intermediate Education, Karachi, on Wednesday declared the results of HSC Humanities (Private) with a pass percentage of 49.87, which was about three per cent higher than that of last year’s.

None of the candidates got A-1 grade. A boy secured first position while the second and third positions were bagged by women.

According to BIE statistics, 12,330 candidates, including 7,175 women, appeared in the exams, and 6,143, including 3,516 women, were declared successful. The pass percentage of boy candidates remained 49.11 and that of women candidates remained 50.43.

Mohammad Sadiq, roll no 590702, clinched first position by securing 807 marks out of 1,100. Second and third positions went to Atika Ahmad, roll no 604392, and Humaira Liaquat, roll no 603190, respectively. All three position holders said they wanted to do masters in arts subjects.

The grade-wise breakdown of successful candidates is as follows: Male; A-grade one, B-grade 82, C-grade 627, D-grade 1,446 and E-grade 350 and pass 21. Woman; A-grade seven, B-grade 232, C-grade 1,185, D-grade 1,873 and E-grade 293 and pass 26.

The BIE had also arranged a ceremony for introducing the position holders to the media. It was revealed during the interviews that two of the position holders, as had happened in Humanities private exams last year, were recipients of formal religious education at madressahs in the city.

Speaking at the ceremony, the BIE Chairman, Prof Iftikhar H Zaidi, referred to talks by some position holders, who said that many students were unable to get education at colleges as their families could not afford the considerable amount of money required for it.

The chairman informed that he wanted that distinguished students could join educational institutions as regular students, adding that he would place the issue before the board’s members for that matter.

If things went smoothly, the BIE Karachi will shortly announce a certain number of scholarships for successful candidates of HSC private group exams.

Mohammad Sadiq, the first position holder, said he had also qualified some higher examinations under Wafaqul Madaris and now wanted finally to do PhD in Economics.

“I want to do some thing related to Islamic banking,” he mentioned, saying that madressahs were also part of society and should be given due place.

He said madressahs also imparted education in subjects related to the modern day and those of utility. “As Muslims, we are failing to fulfil our real obligations because we are distancing ourselves from religion.”

The second position holder, Atika Ahmad, said students getting education at madressahs were equally good and that was why they had been securing top positions in BIE examinations. Atika wants to do her master’s in Mass Communication.

To a question, she said the government decision to combine the exams for parts I and II was ill advised, as it would not only overburden students but was also against the norms of education maintained globally.

The third position was secured by Humaira Liaquat, who besides earning money for her family through embroidery also taught students of her locality. She wants to do a master’s in English.