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Despite difficulties, student scores big in SSC exam

By Nabeel Anwar Dhakku 2017-08-28
CHAKWAL: In a small six-marla house in Nawab Town, Chakwal, Aleesha Hijab and her family live in a single room.

The room serves as the bedroom, drawing room and even Aleesha`s study room where she studied for her secondary school certificate (SSC) examinations, and stunned her teachers and classmates when she scored 1,042 out of 1,100 marks.

`My daughter used to study until midnight, and we had to stay awake with her,` says her father Jabar Abbas, a 43-year-old labourer.

Ms Hijab`s family her parents, herself, and her younger brother -lives in a house without a proper kitchen or even a bathroom. The house is owned by her uncle, who bought it after working as a labourer in Saudi Arabia.

Ms Hijab, 17, is a student of Government Girls High School No.1 in Chakwal the very institute from where Nargis Bibi, who lived in a hut made of straw, scored 1004 marks Aleesha now wants to study at a reputable institution. `My dream is to do my FSc from the Military College Jhelum,` she said, adding that she wants to become a doctor.

Mr Abbas, who was a daily-wage worker, was recruited as a sweeper at a National Bank branch in 2014 on a three-year contract. He lost his job in 2016, after the bank did not renew his contract, so he once again began working as a labourer.

Now, Mr Abbas leaves the house every day on a bicycle to whitewash buildings.

`I wish my daughter and my son, who is in the fifth grade, have a comfortable environment to study and all the necessary facilities. I am doing whatever I can do, he said.