The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Maths contest

  • Winners emerge at Maths contest

    Ten-year-old Madumere Rejoice Ngozi, has emerged winner in the The Ultimate Mathematics Ambassador (TUMA) competition, Ota, Ogun State.

    Ngozi, a pupil of Giant Stride Nursery and Primary School, Ifo, competed with over 1,200 pupils from 408 schools in Ogun and other neighbouring states.

    With a staggering 93 per cent, Ngozi beat nine-year-old Enwere Kingsley Ikenna of Cuddly Kids School and 10-year-old Oyindamola Olawale Hann of Vickstell International School, Ikorodu, who both emerged first and second runners up.

    Ngozi was presented with a N500, 000 and a plaque. Her teacher Mr Moses Issa, went home with N150, 000 and a plaque and her school was given a laptop, printer, textbooks and a plaque.

    Kingsley received N300, 000 and a plaque. His teacher Kehinde Mukadaz was presented with N100, 000 and a plaque; while the school was given a laptop, textbooks and a plaque. Third place Olawale was handed N200, 000 and a plaque, her teacher Mr Edeh Anayo Samuel got N75, 000 and a plaque while her school got a printer, textbooks and a plaque.

    Others who emerged fourth to 10th positions were presented with N50, 000 cash prize and N25,000.00 for their teachers.  Contestants between 11th and 15th positions went home with prizes.

    The Ambassadors Schools, organiser of the event, said TUMA was birthed to address children’s phobia for mathematics.

    Ambassadors Schools Chairman Samson Yomi Osewa, said: “We know that many children today have phobia for mathematics. This school has excelled in mathematics competitions, especially national competition.  We are, therefore, grateful that these organisers have sown into our lives. We, then, decided that for our social responsibility, we should run mathematics competition in primary school to prepare pupils ahead of their secondary education. This, we believe,  will remove the phobia of mathematics.

    Osewa recalled that during TUMA’s maiden edition, the highest marks scored was 63. Nonetheless, he is happy that it skyrocketed to 93 per cent this year, with more schools participating.

    Osewa said the school, as the organiser, has been magnanimous by ensuring 50 of the participants are encouraged via gift presentation.

    “We give prizes to as many as the top 50 that participated in the competition to encourage them. Anybody who does not get a prize will not want to come again; that is why we decided that let everyone get something modest for their effort including their teachers. It will also encourage pupils to study harder in mathematics.”

    Earlier guest speaker and a professor of Chemistry, Odebunmi Ezekiel, described Mathematics as the bedrock of national development.

    He lamented that students’ performance in mathematics had gone down.

    He said: “The major reason why performance in mathematics has gone down is phobia. This can be caused by learning environment, which doesn’t encourage the teaching and learning of mathematics. The teacher factor is another reason. Some of the mathematics teachers are themselves not students of mathematics; they are just doing it without loving the subject. Some of them who know it don’t know how to teach it in a way that students will understand.

    ‘’The last one is the fact that many of the textbooks we have in the market are not reader-friendly at all because of the way they present the concept and the type of questions they ask the students.”

  • Winners emerge at Maths contest

    Ten-year-old Madumere Rejoice Ngozi, has emerged winner in the 2019 The Ultimate Mathematics Ambassador (TUMA) competition, Ota, Ogun State.

    Ngozi, a pupil of Giant Stride Nursery and Primary School, Ifo, competed with over 1,200 others from 408 schools in Ogun State and other neighbouring states.

    With a staggering 93 per cent, Ngozi beat nine-year-old Enwere Kingsley Ikenna of Cuddly Kids School and 10-year-old Oyindamola Olawale Hann of Vickstell International School, Ikorodu who both emerged first and second runners up respectively.

    Ngozi was presented with a N500, 000 cash and a plaque. Her teacher Mr Moses Issa, went home with N150, 000 and a plaque, while her school was given a laptop, printer, textbooks and a plaque.  Kingsley received N300, 000 and a plaque. His teacher Kehinde Mukadaz was also presented with N100, 000 and a plaque; while the school was given a laptop, textbooks and a plaque. Third place Olawale was handed N200, 000 and a plaque, her teacher Mr Edeh Anayo Samuel got N75, 000 and a plaque while her school got a printer, textbooks and a plaque.

    Others who emerged fourth to 10th positions were presented with N50, 000 cash prize and N25,000.00 for their teachers.  Contestants between 11th to 15th positions went home with prizes.

    The Ambassadors Schools, organiser of the event, said TUMA was birthed to address children’s phobia for mathematics.

    Speaking during the event, chairman Ambassadors Schools, Ota Samson Yomi Osewa, said this  of the competition: “We know that many children today have phobia for mathematics. This school has excelled in mathematics competitions especially national competition.  We are therefore grateful that these organisers have sown into our lives. We then decided that for our sociaresponsibility, we should run mathematics competition in primary school to prepare pupils ahead of their secondary education. This, we believe,  will remove the phobia of mathematics.

    Osewa recalled that at TUMA’s maiden edition, the highest marks scored was 63. Nonetheless, he is happy that it skyrocketed to 93 per cent this year, with more schools participating.

    Osewa said the school, as the organiser, has been magnanimous enough by ensuring 50 of the participants are encouraged via gift presentation.

    “We give prizes to as many as the top 50 that participated in the competition to encourage them. Anybody who does not get a prize will not want to come again; that is why we decided that let everyone get something modest for their effort including their teachers. It will also encourage pupils to study harder in mathematics.”

    Earlier guest speaker and a professor of Chemistry, Odebunmi Ezekiel, described Mathematics as the bedrock of national development.

    He lamented that students performance in mathematics in Nigeria in recent times have hit an all-time low.

    He said: “The major reason why performance in mathematics has gone down is phobia. This can be caused by learning environment, which doesn’t encourage the teaching and learning of mathematics. The teacher factor is another reason. Some of the mathematics teachers are themselves not students of mathematics; they are just doing it without loving the subject. Some of them who know it don’t know how to teach it in a way that students will understand.

    ‘’The last one is the fact that many of the textbooks we have in the market are not reader-friendly at all because of the way they present the concept and the type of questions they ask the students.”

  • Promasidor kicks off Cowbellpedia Maths contest

    Promasidor Nigeria Ltd, makers of Cowbell milk, has opened entries for the 2017 edition of the Cowbellpedia Mathematics TV Quiz show at a briefing.

    The firm is looking to register more than the 48,000 pupils from 9,000 schools secondary nationwide that participated in the first stage examination of the competition last year.

    Managing Director of the firm, Mr Olivier Thiry, said the competition was its way of contributing to the development of mathematics in the country.

    “Across the globe, investment in education has assumed an entirely new frontier that governments and corporate organisations have come to realize that building capacity in STEM courses, which Mathematics is a key component of, represents the driving force for development in the 21st century,” he said.

    Thiry said pupils aged 10-18 in JSS3 and SS2 were eligible to enter for the competition which promises attractive prizes.

    The best 20 nationwide would join the best 36 from each state in the second stage of the competition, which is the television quiz show.

    Star prize winners in each category (junior and senior secondary) would get N1 million and an all-expense paid trip outside the country.  Their teachers would go home with N400,000 each.  The first runners up would get N750,000 (N300,000 for their teachers), while the second runners up get N500,000 (N200,000 for their teachers).

    Like was introduced last year, each co-educational school that enters for competition must field at least two girls out of five contestants for the first stage examination.

    Juliet Ikoko, 2016 Junior Category winner, said she was a beneficiary of the initiative. She added that the competition boosted her self confidence.

    “After I won the competition, I gained more confidence in myself.  I want to thank Promasidor for opportunity and for giving a chance to the girl-child of which I am one,” said the teenager who hopes to study Medicine at the John Hopkins University, United States after her secondary education at Ambassadors School, Ota, in Ogun State.

    The Director, Quality Assurance, National Examination Council (NECO), Dr Ikechukwu Anyanwu, said the competition has added value to the quality of item writing for Mathematics.

    He said the Council gained from the way the items (questions) were crafted for the Television quiz show.

    He also said participants gain tremendously as the competition prepares them for university education.

    “The candidates don’t just compete for prizes but it allows them to get into the first year of university with ease,” he said.

    The 2016 Senior Category winner, Ayooluwa Oguntade, also of Ambassadors School, counseled pupils aspiring to win the competition not to give up.

  • 10-year-old beats 347 others in Maths contest

    The Ultimate Mathematics Ambassador competition (TUMA) has produced another Mathematical guru, Daniel Emeka-Ilozor, a 10-year-old pupil of Grace Children School, Gbagada, Lagos State.

    Daniel, a grade five pupil, emerged winner after scoring 93.5 per cent. He contested with 347 pupils from different private primary schools in Ogun and Lagos states. He went home with N125,000 and a plaque, while his mathematics teacher got N50,000 and a plaque and his school was given a laptop, printer, textbooks and a plaque.

    The event was sponsored by The Ambassadors  Schools, Ota, Ogun State, which also hosted the event that produced 10 winners in all.

    Daniel expressed his gratitude to his school as well as his teachers who supported and helped prepare him for the competition. He, however advised aspiring competitors who would be coming for the next phase of TUMA to believe in their ability and also be confident.

    “Pupils should be determined. They should strive towards their goals and never be discouraged,” Daniel said.

    Mother of the winner, Mrs Mary-Jane Ilozor, expressed her appreciation to the school for their support toward her child.

    She said: “They have helped him aim and succeed at this competition. It was not an easy task but I thank God for his support. My boy is very confident and always ready to learn even at home. He said to me that he must win this competition even if it is the last thing he would do,” she said.

    Adekunle David, a pupil of Lifecrown Private School, Abeokuta and his counterpart in St. Bernadette School, Ipaja Kabiawu  Kolawole, emerged second and third positions respectively.

    David won N100,000 and a plaque, his mathematics teacher got N30,000 and a plaque while his school was presented with a laptop, textbooks and plaque.  Kabiawu also went home with N75,000 and a plaque, his mathematics teacher got N20,000 and a plaque, while his school got a printer, textbooks and a plaque.

    Other winners were: Olopade Oluwafikunayomi, Duje Samuel, Matilukuro Theresa, Abioye Oluwaponle, Mabinuori Racheal and Aliyu Ideraoluwa.

    The guest speaker, Prof Oluwole Agbede said:  “Mathematics is an everyday routine of the house.  Without realising it we are using mathematics every day whether we are literate or illiterate.

    “Mathematics is practical and theoretical. It is the process of thinking and the language we use or an art that we are involved in.”

  • School wins Maths contest

    School wins Maths contest

    Area Community Junior Secondary School in Yewa Ogun State has topped other schools at the second edition of ‘Mathematics is simple’ contest.

    Miss Akapo Faith who represented Area Community Junior Secondary School clinched 36 points to beat Durojaiye Bukola from Royal Eagle Model College to second position with 33 points. Omninyi Blessing from Atlantic Academy was third with 29.3 points, while Oladokun Ayomide and Fawoye Cynthia from The Gem International School and Great Grace Senior Science School scored fourth and fifth positions with 25 and 19.5 points respectively.

    The grand finale of the competition was held penultimate week at Able God International School, Owode Yewa, Ogun State.

    Schools that participated were rewarded with Mathematics textbooks. The best Mathematics teacher, Mr. Abolore Olarenwaju Noah from Great Grace whose school also emerged the best school was also awarded cash donation.

    The first three positions were presented medals, gifts, cash prizes plus Mathematics textbooks.

    Initiated by an NGO-‘Our Generation Foundation’, the contest put the contestants to test without the use of calculator.

    The initiators Seun Odumusi and his wife Mrs Gbonjubola said the contest began in February 1 with 91 students across 11 schools in Owode environ. The third edition, the duo said will ran between May 24 to June 21, with over 35 schools across Yewa and Ipokia local governments in the senior category only.

    Mrs Odumusi who is the project coordinator said: “The need that students must pass Mathematics in their entrance examination was also emphasised to the students in the course of the contest. The finalists were made to recite five different multiplication tables under 60seconds.

    “Mathematics which is also an unavoidable subject has brought out the best out of the participating students. Though some students might not have won prizes; yet understand that they have been motivated for hardwork irrespective of the prize,” she concluded.