Students qualify for Sir Syed speech contest
A number of grade eight to 12 students here were selected to contest the Sir Syed Memorial Inter School Speech Contest that takes place in June.
Iman Aqeel Khan, Sarah Noor, Talah Omer and Hiba Rifat were winners of the contest held at a local restaurant that focused on the life of the reformer, Sir Syed Ahmed Khan.
They will represent the Aligarh Muslim University Alumni (AMU) team in the speech contest. The cultural evening program was organized by the alumni committee.
Aqeel Jamil, secretary of AMU, said the main aim of the program was to familiarize children with the life and contribution of Sir Syed and provide them a platform to discuss issues important to the community and nation.
The participants focused on the life and the achievements of the founder of Aligarh Muslim University and received thunderous applause from the audience.
Bilal Mohammed Mumtaz and Rida Imran secured second and third position in grade nine; and Hannan Hussain and Sajid Wazeer achieved second and third positions in grades 10 and 12 respectively.
Farzan Rizvi, AMU president, talked about the university and emphasized the importance of public speaking and leadership programs for children and adults.
The audience enjoyed a play recital “Dimaag ki Haddi,” which was about the importance of Muslims following the straight path and rejecting Satan. The play was directed by Khurram Ilyas and included Ateeq Siddiqui, Imran Ansari and Omer.
Farzan Rizvi and Aqeel Jamil presented a plaque of appreciation to Ilyas, AMU vice president, who was leaving the Kingdom for good, for his contribution to the community.
The contest master for the speech contest was toastmaster Shafiqur Rehman and chief judge Danish Ghafoor. T. M. Khalil Ahmed, Siraj Siddiqui and Ather Rasool were the role players.
Dr. Najeeb Qais, vice principal of the International Indian School in Jeddah, Rizvi, Saeed and other senior committee members gave away the prizes. The program concluded with a brief ghazal and instrument performance.