LAHORE - Girls have outclassed boys by securing overall top two positions in BA and BSc annual examination 2008. A colourful ceremony in this regard was held here in Faisal Auditorium at Punjab University, New Campus, on Saturday. Pass percentage remained 24.67 as 42,653 out of the total 172,888 candidates were declared successful. Some 10,428 male candidates were declared successful out of the 62,816 male candidates appeared in the exam showing 16.6 pass percentage. As many as 110,072 female candidates appeared while 32,225 were declared passed producing 29.28 percent pass ratio. In the BSc programme, Mahwish Nadeem from Leadership College, Sialkot, clinched overall first position by securing 665/800 (83.13 percent) marks. Wajeeha Sundas of Government Post Graduate College for Women, Satellite Town, Rawalpindi and Saba Shezadi of Ibn-e-Ameer Govt College for Women Jalalpur Jattan shared the second position by securing 657 (82.13 percent) marks each. Usman Rafi from Govt Municipal Degree College Faisalabad stood third with 640 (80 percent) marks. In BA programme, a private candidate from Lahore, Sheikh Muhammad Umar Farooq grabbed first position with 642 (80.25 per cent) marks, Sharmeen Azher from Govt Degree College for Women Chakwal stood second with 628 (78.5 per cent) marks. Third position was shared by Shaista Mehtab, a private candidate from Rawalpindi and Ayesha Tariq of Govt College for Women Shakargarh, Narowal, with 623 (77.88 per cent) marks each. Punjab University arranged a ceremony in the honour of position-holders at New Campus, where Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif gave away cash prizes of Rs 100,000, Rs 75,000 and Rs 65,000 respectively to the overall top three position-holders in both the programmes. Later addressing the ceremony, the chief minister also announced cash prizes of Rs 300,000, Rs 200,000 and Rs 175,000 respectively for the top three position-holders in Bachelor of Arts and Science, while Rs 200,000 cash prize each for the colleges' teachers who produced the position-holders. The chief minister also felicitated the position-holders, their parents and teachers whose concerted efforts enabled these students to grab top positions in the examination. Shahbaz Sharif also announced the establishment of Talent Endowment Fund under which the Punjab government would bear educational expenditures of all the top position-holders, wherever they want to study in the world. Earlier, briefing the participants about the result statistics Controller Examination Zahid Karim Khan announced, on behalf of the VC, a grant of Rs 200,000 for the employees of examination department of the university. PU Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Mujahid Kamran presented the welcome address while Higher Education Secretary Arifa Saboohi, PU Registrar Prof Dr Naeem Ahmed Khan and other senior faculty members were also present. A good number of students, their parents, friends and teachers and media men attended the ceremony. The parents encouraged their children and emotional scenes were witnessed in the auditorium.