Pakistani students excel well in Kerala’s SSLC exam, 677 qualified for higher education

DUBAI: Students from Pakistan have excelled well in Kerala's SSLC exam. Around 60 non-Indian students residing in the UAE wrote Kerala's SSLC exam. Among them, students from Pakistan were also there. A total of 685 students wrote the SSLC exam in UAE. Of these, 677 has been qualified for higher education. The pass percentage is 98.83 percent.

Seven schools in the UAE follow the Kerala State Board curriculum. Out of them, three schools Model Private School in Abu Dhabi, New Indian Model School in Sharjah and Indian School in Fujairah achieved 100 percent success.

30 Pakistanis
66 non-Indian students wrote the SSLC exam. Of these, 30 are Pakistanis and 20 Bangladeshis. Five are Afghans and three Sri Lankans. Students from Philippines, Nepal, Egypt, Mali, Sudan, Senegal, Yemen and Iran also appeared for the exam. Out of 66, 61 students qualified for higher education. The New Indian School in Ras Al Khaimah had the highest number of foreign students, 24.

Non-Indian students, especially Pakistanis, have been following the Kerala State Board curriculum for years and have consistently performed well in the SSLC exams, school principal Beena Rani told Gulf News. Initially, Pakistani students joined the school. Later, students from other countries started joining, the principal said.

The Kerala State Board follows a comprehensive and continuous assessment system. The principal said this system emphasizes conceptual understanding over memorization.
Not only marks in the exam, but also skills like syllabus, public speaking, project work etc. are also assessed. She also clarified that our students regularly excel in seminars and competitions.

She added that awareness among parents is increasing about the comprehensive nature of the Kerala curriculum. Parents are now seeing its benefits. They are closely watching the students going for higher education and successful careers.

Is Malayalam compulsory?
Students from other countries are not required to study Malayalam. They can opt for alternative subjects instead. They can opt for General Knowledge instead of Hindi. An optional English paper has also been included which makes it easier for non-Indian students to score well.

At the New Indian School in Ras Al Khaimah, out of the 24 non-Indian students, seven are Bangladeshis, six Pakistanis and five Afghans. The English private school in Umm Al Quwain has the highest number of international students. 18, including 15 Pakistanis. There were 17 students at the Indian School in Fujairah. Of these, 10 are Bangladeshis, six are Pakistanis and one is Filipino.

Rajesh Janardhanan, head of the secondary department at the Indian School in Fujairah, said that Kerala SSLC results are not officially recognized in Pakistan and Bangladesh. Some families do not have the opportunity to return to Pakistan or Bangladesh. That is why they have chosen the Kerala Board exam, he said.