Mohamed Safraz Hussain remembers walking to primary school without a uniform, wearing whatever shoes he had. Decades later, watching his 16-year-old son secure 12 Grade Ones at CSEC, the Albion Estate Harvesting Manager says every late-night pickup and sacrificed lunch break was worth it.
Mohamed Hussain, a student of New Amsterdam Secondary School, is among this year’s outstanding CSEC performers, securing Grade Ones in all 12 subjects he sat.
Behind the achievement is a father determined to give his children the support he wished he had during his own school years.
“What I’ve missed in my days studying, I cannot allow it for them to feel that way. I can remember going to school my entire first primary school days without uniform. Whatever you have, you wear. In terms of footwear, whatever you have, and that was those days,” Hussain said.
Although his own parents supported him when he entered secondary school, Hussain said his experiences taught him the importance of ensuring his children never faced similar hardships.
“As a father, you look for the best for your child. There’s no way that you would want them to go through that part,” he said, adding that his goal is to help his sons “better” themselves in whatever way they can.
That commitment meant sacrifices of his own, particularly while balancing a demanding job with his son’s packed academic schedule. Hussain said he often used his lunch breaks, time immediately after work and even late evenings to ensure his son got to lessons and returned home safely.
“There are some nights when you have to pick him up. There are some days within my work time… I try to put all the schedules within my lunch break and just after work hours,” he said.
When he was unable to make the trip himself, his son’s chemistry teacher would sometimes assist with transportation after lessons. Hussain said he is grateful for the support his son received from teachers and others who contributed to his success.
Mohamed now plans to attend the University of Guyana’s Tain campus to study physics, with hopes of eventually becoming a physicist.
He said his parents played a major role in his results. “Every night that I was up, they were with me,” he said, adding: “My teachers also played a big role. A lot of them helped us. Like, Sir Nicholas from my school, it was 2am before the physics exam, and we still didn’t understand radiation. And we just called him, he picked up, and said, ‘Yeah, let’s go on a Zoom meeting,’ and he explained the entire topic.”
He recalled his mother sitting nearby and encouraging him to keep studying, while his father was always available whenever he needed transportation to lessons or other academic commitments.
Mohamed said completing required labs was challenging, particularly in chemistry, where students had limited time with the subject, but he remained focused and disciplined.
With new guidelines governing the use of artificial intelligence in CSEC School-Based Assessments, Mohamed said his teachers had already been cautioning students against relying on it. “All our teachers were adamant, ‘don’t use AI during it,’ they kept telling us so. We didn’t really use any AI, only for certain research terms,” he said.
He said achieving 12 Grade Ones required sacrifices, including spending less time on his phone, going out less frequently and dedicating more time to studying.
Mohamed advised students preparing to sit CSEC next year to work consistently and refuse to settle for less. “Just don’t say, ‘It’s a problem subject, I’ll just accept that and get a Grade Two or Three.’ Push for that Grade One,” he said.
He encouraged students to read their syllabuses, complete SBAs early, identify recurring topics in difficult subjects, make notes and establish a regular study routine.
For his father, the sacrifices have been worthwhile. Having experienced hardship in his own childhood, Safraz Hussain said it remains his mission to ensure his sons have the support, opportunities and freedom to pursue their ambitions.
