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| The Top 5 Association of Muslim Schools 2019 Matric achievers: Iman Jhetam of Lenasia Muslim School (1st); Zeenat Ismail Casmod of Azaadville Muslim School & Aarifah Loonat of Lenasia Muslim School (both in 2nd); Imaan Atia of Al-Asr Educational Institute, Laudium (4th); Aaliya Cassim of Middelburg Muslim School (5th). |
By Fakir Hassen
The increasing lack of boys among the top Matriculants in Gauteng is a matter of serious concern, former Deputy Minister of Education Enver Surtee said at the annual function where the Association of Muslim Schools acknowledged top performers from its member schools.
Surtee was the keynote speaker at the event on 2 February, hosted at the Turkish Mosque in Midrand, where scores of learners were honoured for their achievements.
The top five learners were all girls. First Place went to Iman Jhetam of Lenasia Muslim School (93,43%) while the joint second place was awarded to Zeenat Ismail Casmod of Azaadville Muslim School and Aarifah Loonat of Lenasia Muslim School (both got 93.14%). Fourth was Imaan Atia of Al-Asr Educational Institute (92.57%) and fifth Aaliya Cassim of Middelburg Muslim School (91.86%). They are all pictured with Surtee.
Commenting on the absence of boy learners from the list, Surtee said it had a great deal to do with distraction and lack of motivation.
“It’s not only in Muslim schools – it’s a general phenomenon. Girl learners are staying longer in school; the throughput rate is much greater with girl learners; they are achieving more distinctions; so overall they perform better than boys,” Surtee said in an exclusive interview with LENASIA TIMES afterwards.
“It’s a matter of concern also in the Muslim schools, because all the highest achievers were girls. Of course, we must celebrate that because our girls who were previously marginalised are doing so well.”
“Something has to be done where conversations must start taking place with our boys. Parents, communities and the leadership must be included in motivating our boy learners to do better.
“It doesn’t mean that they are lesser endowed, but it certainly means that they are more distracted than our girl learners.”
Surtee cited several distractions which have led to this situation.
“Children have easy access to resources. Children have cars much more easily; and through access to information technology through tablets and cell phones they are able to see the more exciting part of life. You see that in the way they comb their hair, in the way they dress and so forth.
“Youngsters are driving cars with sound systems that cost more than the car itself.
“I think that our girls tend to be more modest. They tend to more focused and less distracted.”
“The parochial tendency does continue where boys get away with more than girls – there is more discipline when it comes to girls and less when it comes to boys and there is no basis for that at all, morally, religiously or otherwise. Maybe it’s a cultural phenomenon that we’ve inherited.
“It’s therefore very important that parents do not spoil their children to the extent that they move further away from us and become less focused on their education,” Surtee concluded.
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