Adeel Malik
Each year, Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education (HKDSE) is undertaken by around 60,000 students of Hong Kong, hoping to achieve admirable results which can pave their further education and career paths.
Earlier this month, as the results of 2018 HKDSE exams came out, there were many who were in joyful mood, including Muslim students in Hong Kong. Point to note that though not every one got what they dreamed of, it’s vital the efforts of everyone are acknowledged to make sure they remain positive regardless of the results.
A number of Muslim students studying at IKTMC (Islamic Kasim Tuet Memorial College) attained some splendid results, Alhumdulilah.
Similar to last year and the year before, Muslim Council of Hong Kong interviewed our bright stars of the future to find out more about this success from them. Tahreem Fatima was the best achiever bringing home 23 points.
Two other female students, Shabnam Nigar and Mahmood Arisha both managed to earn 22 points, whilst many others, as can be seen by the poster attached, accomplished top results.
Some of the students, as it can been seen, have already been offered to study at various Hong Kong and international universities. Before we hear from the students, here are some words from Mr. Razi, Raza, one of the Liberal Studies teachers at IKTMC.
“Feel blessed and grateful to Allah seeing Hong Kong Muslims achieve such meaningful results. May Allah further bless them in their education and always guide them to the straight path. Ameen”
He further gave some tips to the future HKDSE students.
“First and foremost, have reliance upon Allah. Know that nothing happens without His knowledge nor permission. Persistently seek to be close to Allah and earn His love and embody Islam.
Secondly, diligence. There is no free lunch as a saying goes. Work hard. Strive for betterment and excellence. “Verily, with every hardship, there is ease” (Quran Ch. 94 V. 5). It will be tough but know that only through toughness, does ease sprout.
Third, strategize your revision materials. Study in small chunks. Use acronyms. Have a revision timetable. Start revising NOW than LATER.”
Now, here are the responses of the 3 top Muslim students.
1) How did you manage to attain such excellent results?
Fatima:
I believe it’s firstly because of Allah’s will. Whatever He has decided for us it is for our betterment.
Honestly I felt I could do much more better than I did. But I’m still thankful for my results. How did I do it? For me I think paying full attention and being attentive in class helped a lot. It helped me to remember most of the chapters in mind, which then could let me focus more on the parts I’m weaker at.
On the other hand, it’s the efforts of teachers on me paid off. And yes the prayers of all my loved ones especially parents. I believe everyone has certain contributions to my excellent results.
Shabnam:
It took time, help from teachers and hard work to achieve these results. Most importantly, I kept a strong motivation in me since the beginning.
I knew it would be a step by step progress and will require lot of effort.
Keeping a schedule really helped as well because i could keep track of what I revise each day and this helped me make my focus clear.
Arisha:
I managed to get excellent results as I maintained balance in my studying time and relaxation time. When tests or exams are near, many students prefer staying at home and studying day and night. But for me, I wasn’t one of those students as I get headache after studying for too long.
So, I maintained a balance between the two things and it made it very easy for me to study and feel relaxed at the same time.
And in my point of view, studying for too long causes unwanted tension plus it makes a person restless. So my advice to all the students would be stay calm, and don’t get nervous, study as much as you can but also take time out to relax yourselves.
2) Did you face any difficulties and how did you overcome them?
Fatima:
Everyone faces difficulties in different scenarios. Exams are obviously the toughest.
For me, the difficulty was my laziness.
But I know I have improved a lot. I started to plan schedules for my studies. Also, I would have sticky notes as a reminder on my study desk. All these reminders kept reminding me that DSE is approaching so I had the urge to study consistently.
Shabnam:
I faced plenty of difficulties such as I had a lot of content to cover up altogether and it really confused me. It was stressful and I felt like giving up on some subjects. Moreover, I would worry about whether I was making enough effort or not.
I would often doubt myself.
My teachers helped me overcome this by giving me some really useful notes to focus on and just a little more boost of motivation worked.
Arisha:
Yes I faced certain difficulties, and the most difficult situation was deciding what to study at what time.
There was so much to cover and I knew I couldn’t cover it all in a few months, but thankfully, my teachers were there to help me.
They distributed notes where all the important chapters were covered. Also, some teachers even helped us plan our study schedule. It really helped me overcome the difficultly of not knowing what to study and where to start from.
3) Do you think it’s important for Muslims to consistently strive to get such results in Hong Kong?
Fatima:
Yes it’s surely a big Yes!
In Islam, it is told that we Muslims should have the greatest responsibility to be a great role model in the society, so it’s really important for us to achieve excellent results to let people know more about us.
This will enable our religion Islam to greatly prevail and be better understood by non Muslims. These all require hard work, as it is said actions speak louder than words. So all the Muslims in Hong Kong should give their best!
Shabnam:
I think it’s crucial for Muslims to strive for good results because I believe Muslims are capable of achieving anything if they try hard enough.
Muslims deserve to be appreciated and acknowledged.
With good results, Muslims will be able to outshine in this multicultural city and have a great future.
Arisha:
Yes, I think it’s very important for Muslims to consistently strive to get good results in Hong Kong. We all know Hong Kong is a multicultural city where we can find a little bit of everything everywhere. As Muslims, we should achieve good results in order to be good examples for younger Muslims.
Also it will allow us to attain a high status in the Hong Kong community in order to be more involved in the internal issues of our community.
4) What are your future plans?
Fatima:
For the time being, my plan is to finish my bachelor degree in 4 years. I hope to achieve self-improvement during these 4 years.
Empower myself and contribute greatly to the Hong Kong society as the image of a Muslim.
Lastly, to make my parents and teachers to be proud of me.
Shabnam:
Currently, my plan is to complete my degree of bachelor of arts in 4 years. I am still exploring and trying new things.
I have tons of dreams in my head and I will follow the right one when time comes.
Arisha:
My future plans currently are to finish my bachelors degree in 3 years time along with working in different areas in order to find out which career aspect aspires me to outshine myself.
Also, after few years, I’m hoping to start my own business.
5) What’s your advice to the future F.6 students especially those from the ethnic minority in Hong Kong?
Fatima:
To the all F.6 students, after my experience, I would like to ask you to really work hard from the starting of Form 6 and not just at the end phase of Form 6.
In fact, Form 5 is already the beginning to fight, don’t make up your mind saying that you still have so much time left. Instead you should start planning and do it.
It is all about doing past papers, if you are familiar with the game then you will surely win.
Or else you will regret, I know this feeling when you have the report card in your hand and you yourself know that you could do better and wish that you should have worked harder. So do listen and start right from this moment.
Shabnam:
My advice to them is that never doubt yourself because every failure comes with doubt.
Work hard but don’t over stress yourself.
Remember your aim and in the end, the little progress each day will add up to the big result.
Arisha:
My advice would be don’t stress yourself out. Have enough sleep, do past papers and focus on your mistakes in order to improve them.
Ask teachers what they think is lacking in your studies as teachers see our work and they can give us the best advice.
Lastly, don’t lose hope because of DSE, I made it here so why can’t you?
MCHK along with all Muslims in Hong Kong and worldwide wish all the best for our shining stars of tomorrow and also to say to those who didn’t receive good results to not feel down but to believe in Allah’s plans and keep giving their best.
