Jammu and Kashmir Urdu Council today organised a function here to felicitate the winner students of online Urdu essay competition held in June this year.Principal Secretary, School Education and Skill Development, Dr Asgar Hassan Samoon was the Chief Guest on the occasion while the award distribution function was presided over by noted cartoonist Bashir Ahmed Bashir.About 13 participant students including first, second and third besides 10 consolation position holders were awarded with cash rewards, mementos, certificates and books. Hayfa Sajad of Mallison Girls School, Razia Sultan of Zoon Islamic School Hajin, Bandipora and Mehr-o-Muzaffar of Government Girls Higher Secondary School, Seer Hamdan, Islamabad had respectively bagged first three positions in the competition in which students from 196 government and private schools participated.Besides, 10 consolation prizes also in the shape of cash, books and certificates were given to the participants of the competition including Mir Asrar, Srinagar, Zuha Parvez, Islamabad, Abrar Nabi, Kamamat Kamran and Mir Suhaib, Ganderbal, Shafiya Lateef Ramban, Rashid Manaan, Baramulla, Amreeza Ashiq, Islamabad, Muskan Shabir Islamabad and Syedah Seerat Geelani Uri.Participation certificates to all other contestant students shall be distributed through concerned Chief Education Officers in their respective districts.
Pertinently, the book sets given to winner students were donated by Iqbal Institute of Culture and philosophy, University of Kashmir and were presented to winners by coordinator of the institute Dr. Mushtaq Ahmed Ganaie.Dr Samoon complimented Urdu Council for organising such a successful competition among the students in tough pandemic situation. He presented appreciation certificates to the Panel of experts who evaluated and interviewed the successful contestants. The Panel included Shafi Shakir, M Yaseen Qadri and Suhail Salim.Dr. Samoon also released an Urdu book written by Suhail Salim about women Urdu fiction writers of Kashmir.Earlier, President JK Urdu Council, Dr Javed Iqbal, threw light on the policy and activities of Urdu Council.Former HoD Urdu UK and CUK Prof Nazir Ahmed Malik in his key note address referred to new education policy and government’s decision to declare five languages as official languages in Jammu and Kashmir.District Coordinator, Bandipora of Urdu Council Shahbaz Hakbari presented and overall account of the on line essay competition.Urdu Council Secretary General Javed Matjee conducted the proceedings of award function.A galaxy of personalities attended the award distribution function including Noor Shah, Advocate A R Hanjoora, Wehshi Syed, Reyaz Masroor, Prof. Hameed Naseem Rafiabadi, Ajaz Ahmed Kakroo, Jan Mohammad Azad, Mufti Mohammad Sultan, G N Vaar , officials of education department, media persons, literary figures besides parents and teachers of winner students.