HYDERABAD, July 11: The students, who grabbed top positions in the SSC part-II, science group, annual examination, here on Wednesday criticized the culture of coaching centres and said it had affected the education of those students who could not go to the centres.

Talking to journalists at the Hyderabad Press Club, where the result was announced, the students also said the course syllabus should be prepared in accordance with the needs of the time.

Sidra Saeed, who got first position among girls with 765 marks, said it was a dream come true for her and attributed her success to her parents, teachers and neighbours.

She said the present syllabus did not cater to the needs of the students of the time due to which, she added, they were far behind other countries in education.

She said reforms were needed in educational institutions. She said the culture of coaching centres and cheating in examinations must be brought to an end.

Mehvish, who secured second position among girls with 763 marks, also called for including new texts books in the syllabus.

Nisha Kumari, who obtained third position among girls with 760 marks, said she was aspiring for specialisation in computer science.

She did not agree with the view that students, studying in rural areas, did not bag positions and said it depended on the hard work of the students.

Faisal Jaffar, who secured first position among boys with 761 marks, also demanded an end to coaching centres.

He asked multinational companies and developed countries to give scholarships to poor students for advanced studies.

He agreed with the questioner that the standard of education in government institutions was very low, adding that efforts by teachers and students were needed in this context.

He also urged the government to take measures to improve the standard of educational institutions.

Abid Ali and Naveed Ahmad, who shared the second position by taking 759 marks, urged the teachers to pay due attention to their students.

They also said the syllabus should be made in accordance with the needs of the time and the outdated books should be excluded from the syllabus.