President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih has awarded the winners of the 33rd National Quran Competition.

Awards were conferred by the President to first, second and third place winners who were presented “Hafiz” crowns.

The closing and awarding ceremony was held at the Islamic Center on Saturday night.

Vice President Faisal Naseem, Parliament Speaker and former President Mohamed Nasheed and Minister of Islamic Affairs Dr. Ahmed Zahir were in attendance along with other senior government officials

The Vice President had conferred some of the awards as well, under the general recitation and school categories.

Students from different schools and colleges, as well as some individuals from the general public also participated in the competition this year.

This year’s competition saw the greatest number of participants so far, recorded at 1,273 and the Ministry of Islamic Affairs had stated that they received support from the government for the overall planning of the competition.