Thiruvananthapuram Student Shines at the Olympiad Awards 2017-18

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM:
Saraswathy Ashok of Class 8 at the Arya Central School in Thiruvananthapuram, made her parents proud by garnering International Rank 2 in the International English Olympiad organised as part of the SOF Olympiad. Saraswathy Ashok won a Silver Medal, Merit Certificate and Rs 25000 as cash prize.
Over 45000 schools from 1400 cities across 30 countries participated in the six SOF Olympiad exams during 2017-18 and around millions students appeared for the Olympiad. In this Olympiad, Thiruvananthapuram came out with flying colours, with a total participation of 25578.
The Science Olympiad Foundation organized a felicitation function to recognize and award the International Rank winning students, teachers and principals of Olympiad exams held during the Academic year 2017-18.
During the function, the top 3 SOF international rank holders from classes one to 12 for the six Olympiad exams conducted by SOF were awarded. There were a total of 180 awards. During the function, the top 3 international rank holders from classes one to twelve for the 6 Olympiad exams conducted by SOF were awarded at Delhi. The awards given away at the Delhi Function include:
• International Rank One (60 awards) – Each winner was awarded Rs.50,000, a Gold Medal, and Merit Certificate
• International Rank Two (60 awards) – Each winner awarded Rs 25000, a Silver Medal, and Merit Certificate
• International Rank Three (60 awards) – Each winner was awarded Rs 10000, a Bronze Medal and Merit Certificate.
The top 25 principals and top 50 teachers – from 30 countries – whose students put up exceptional performances at the international level, were also felicitated with cash awards, mementos and citations.
The program started with the lighting of the lamp at The India Habitat Centre Auditorium in Delhi by the Chief Guest, Minister of State for Law & Justice and The Ministry of Corporate Affairs P.P. Choudhary; Padma Shri Prof YS Rajan Former Chairman, NIT Manipur & Distinguished Professor.at ISRO; Michael King, Director – Examinations, India, British Council; and Markand Lele, President, The Institute of Company Secretaries of India.
While speaking with the audience, Choudhary lauded students and schools for achieving excellence in academics and said that excellence is its own goal. He referred to the book Exam Warriors written by Prime Minister Narendra Modi for children. Picking up a few wisdoms from the book, Shri Chaudhary told students to celebrate exams like festivals and told students that exams are not a test of their personality, but a test of their preparations. He spoke of science and the will to perform better with the help of imagination.
He said imagination is the sole characteristic of humans across the living world as we know it – no machine or animal possesses it, and is critical to develop broader thinking. The SOF International English Olympiad (IEO) is organized in partnership with the British Council since the past 7 years, and International Company Secretaries Olympiad (ICSO), in partnership with The Institute of Company Secretaries of India, Ministry of Corporate Affairs.
Mahabir Singh, Founder & Director of SOF, said that over 45000 schools from 1400 cities across 30 countries participated in the six SOF Olympiad exams during 2017-18 and millions of students appeared for them. About 55000 students from 5850 schools have been awarded for achieving top state level ranks. In addition, over 8,00,000 students have been awarded “Medals of Excellence” for achieving top rank in their respective schools.  Mahabir Singh also informed that, in addition to conducting Olympiads, SOF provides Annual Scholarships to 300 meritorious girl children from economically weaker sections under the Girl Child Scholarship Scheme; Scholarships to 120 students excelling in English language, Conducts Teachers’ Training Programs to share improved educational techniques & technologies with teachers; and also organiz e s other training programs, camps and exhibitions.
It also runs a scholarship called The Academic Excellence Scholarship” to recognize students’ exhibiting all round excellence in academics. Under the prestigious AES, 160 students across 25 countries are awarded with a trophy, a citation and a cash award.
From 2018-19, TCS (Tata Consultancy Services) will also join hands with SOF towards bringing in their vast digital and on-line expertise in conducting exams. During 2017-18, a new Olympiad exam- SOF-International General Knowledge Olympiad (IGKO) was introduced. The IGKO was launched on the repeated suggestions received from schools and parents. Students from classes one to ten could appear in the IGKO.