The international nature of the boy troubles
Usually, when I refer to the boy troubles as international I keep to the Western countries where there’s reliable data for comparison. Expanding it beyond that world seems problematic: What about the regions of Pakistan where girls are attacked for even going to school?
But I can’t resist passing along interesting anecdotal material beyond the Western world. This from Qatar:
Girls outnumber boys 4:1 at EED awards Heir Apparent honours achievers
Rajesh Mishra
Doha The Heir Apparent His Highness Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al Thani presented the Education Excellence Day (EED) awards at an official ceremony held at Four Seasons Hotel on Wednesday.
HH the Heir Apparent is also the Chairman of the Supreme Education Council.
The awardees included 16 students, two of them PhD- holders.
While they were honoured for their extraordinary academic accomplishments, a teacher and a school were rewarded for their outstanding performances.
Girls outnumbered boys as achievers of excellence four times over.
As many as three awards, namely, Outstanding Teacher award for Preparatory School (Platinum Medal), Outstanding Teacher award for Primary School (Platinum Medal) and Outstanding Scientific Research award for Secondary Students (Platinum Medal) went unclaimed in the absence of deserving candidates.
In his opening speech, the Minister of Education and Higher Education His Excellency Saad bin Ibrahim al Mahmoud underlined the importance of the awards ceremony.
“The Excellence Awards presented by HH Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al Thani reflect Qatar’s support for academic excellence and scientific research.
Awarding students, teachers and institutions encourage and motivate them to strive for perfection in the areas that best serve the development needs of the country.” HE the Minister added, “There is no doubt that this award plays an important role in spreading the culture of innovation and excellence in Qatari society and will go a long way in motivating students, teachers, administrators, university students and doctoral students to strive for excellence.
This is what we hope to achieve with the Education Excellence Award in a variety of categories.” Talking to Qatar Tribune Dr Sharifa Noaman F al Emadi, who bagged the Platinum award for her PhD in psychology and counselling from the Manchester Metropolitan University remarked, “I really feel honoured.
Doing a doctorate is something I have been dreaming of since early childhood.
The best part of it all is that I am able to put my learning during my research work to practical use being a counsellor at the Family Counselling Centre.” Dr Moza A Latif Hassan al Ishaq, who got Platinum Medal for her doctorate in patient safety from the School of Nursing at Indiana University, thanked her family for its support and said that the new generation of girls was doing well in Qatar because the families were supportive to them.
Echoing her sentiments, Mashail Mehanna Ali al Naimi, a graduate in international politics from Georgetown University a winner of the Platinum award in the outstanding university graduates category remarked, “I feel proud of myself and the family I come from.
My family has been extremely supportive to me.
I really felt on top of the world today when my mother told me that she wished my younger brother too did her proud in the same way I had done.” Yet another student Saleha Al Zaraa who got Platinum medal in Secondary School Students category said, “This recognition has increased my self-esteem because it’s a national award for which all students in Qatar compete”.
Asked why girls always outnumbered boys in bagging the excellence award, Maryam Abdulla Moosa Abuhelaiqa, a graduate in business administration from Qatar University and honoured with Golden Award in Outstanding University Graduates category said that while boys were content earning money after the secondary level, girls chased the dream of higher learning.
Tags: qatar international
