Students from over 100 schools participate in DBA’s writing competitions

Three national writing competitions organized by the Dhivehi Bahuge Academy (DBA) began on Saturday for hundreds of school students across the country.

The competitions are:

• The 39th National Essay Writing Competition for Uz. Mohamed Jameel Didi Memorial Cup
• The 36th National Short Story Writing Competition for Sheikh Malim Moosa Maafaiykaleyfaanu Memorial Cup
• The 27th National Poetry Writing Competition for Huiy Ali Didi Memorial Cup

The essay writing competition was held from 08:00 am to 11:00 am, the short story writing competition is being held from 01:00 pm to 04:00 pm, and the poetry competition will take place from 06:00 pm to 09:00 pm.

DBA’s director, Shahuma Ali told Sun that over 800 school students are participating in the essay writing and short story writing competitions, and some 400 students are participating in the poetry competition.

She noted that the competition is taking place simultaneously across the country.

“We found these competitions play a significant role in promoting love for the Dhivehi language. We are also happy to see the students who take part in these competitions excel in other fields as well,” she said.

Shahuma noted that essays and short stories are part of the O-level syllabus, and the competition serves as good practice for students.

And while poetry is not part of syllabus, the competition serves to provide opportunities for students interested in poetry.

A young schoolgirl who took part in the essay writing competition told Sun that such competitions help her practice and horn her writing skills. She said that though she may not win any prizes this time around, she is already eager to participate in the next one, and maybe win prizes too.

She said that she easily finished her essay.

The competitions are being participated in by schools from all atolls, except for one.

Students from total 104 schools are attending the competitions; 22 from the capital and 82 from the atolls.

The competitions are being held in the atolls with support from the Local Government Authority (LGA), city councils, atoll councils and island councils.

According to the DBA, total 999 participants – including school students and private parties – joined the essay competition. Meanwhile, 931 participants joined the short story competition and 493 joined the poetry competition.

DBA noted that students are allowed break times during the competition, including for prayer.