ALIGARH, October 15: AMU Girls’ School celebrated Sir Syed Day with a cultural programme and prize distribution ceremony, honouring the educational vision and legacy of Sir Syed Ahmad Khan and recognising students’ achievements in literary and creative activities.
Osmond Charles, Senior Advocate at the Aligarh District and Sessions Courts, minority rights activist and author of From Jerusalem to Aligarh: A Brief History of Christianity in India, attended as Chief Guest. Principal Amna Malik welcomed him and recalled his association with the institution, where he studied at Abdullah Girls’ High School in the late 1950s.
Revisiting his school days, Charles paid tribute to Sir Syed Ahmad Khan’s secular and progressive vision and acknowledged the contributions of Sheikh Abdullah and Ala Bi to women’s education. He urged students to value knowledge, wisdom and a positive attitude over material comforts, emphasising intellectual growth and strong personal values.
The celebrations featured an inter-school essay-writing competition and intra-school events in card making, Urdu writing, Nazm Khwani, salad making, cooking without fire and poster making. In the essay-writing competition, Syed Noor Fatma, AMU Girls’ School, secured first position, followed by Swaleha Qamar of AMU City Girls’ High School and Deepshika of AMU ABK High School (Girls) in second and third positions, respectively. Samaira Irshad of SSS (Girls) and Mohd Wali Hasan of Sayyid Hamid Senior Secondary School secured third positions.
Among the intra-school events, Simra Adil and Afiya Nayeem won first prize in salad making. Mahira secured first position in Urdu writing, while Sidra Khan topped the Nazm Khwani competition. Varnika Verma won first prize in card making, and Riza and Aaliya Zainab topped the cooking-without-fire competition.
Afreen Fatima, Secretary of the English Society, compered the programme, while Nusrat Parveen announced the prize winners. The event was coordinated by Cultural Coordinator Arshi Zafar Khan, with support from Event In-charge Zeba Nawaz, Bushra Kirmani, Iram Saba, Shabnam Aijaz, Tabeer and Shadma Sana.
The programme reaffirmed the school’s commitment to nurturing literary expression, creativity and the holistic development of students in keeping with Sir Syed’s educational ideals.