By Emma Elekwa,
Over 25 secondary school pupils from the Southeast converged on the Grundtvig International Secondary School, Oba, Anambra State to celebrate their peers who won laurels in American Mathematics Competition (AMC) and the Kangourou Sans Frontieres (KSF).
Teachers and parents of the students were also not left out in the celebration as they cheered the celebrities who won the keenly contested competition conducted by International Academy for the Gifted.
National Coordinator of the Academy, Mr. Fabowale Oyebola said the competition was holding for the first time in the Southeast.
He said the choice of Anambra State was informed by the increase in performance of the schools in the zone.
He said: “This is the ninth edition since over 10 years ago the competition started. AMC has been here since, while Kangaroo Sans Frontiers (KSF), joined three years ago.
“The exercise challenges the students who compete with their peers all over the world as it assists in preparing them for international examinations.
“The competition tends to bring the students out from their cocoons and the lethargy, waking them up from their slumber. The teachers just play the role of guidance.”
Fabowale said the examination was basically qualitative and quantitative reasoning, conducted under the strict supervision of the Regional Coordinator, without any external assistance.
Pan African Olympiad Commission Prsident, Prof Adewale Solarin, urged the school to take advantage of the competition aimed at mentoring teachers and students.
Solarin, a former Chief Executive, National Mathematics Centre, represented by Mr Edunjobi Olugbenga, a mathematics coordinator, said he had demystified mathematics by making the subject more of a fun.
“This programme has assisted in reducing to a large extent the phobia for mathematics among students in Nigeria and Africa,” he said.
Also, Senior Admissions Manager (Nigeria), Academic City, Ghana, Mrs Ogechi Ekpe, described teaching as a vocation which must be carried out passionately.
She praised Solarin’s passion in discovering gifted and talented children, adding that he mentored students regardless of tribe, religion and gender.
“There is nothing you pay a teacher that is worth the sacrifice of transforming the minds and hearts of the children. That is what distinguishes the profession from others.
On his part, Vice Principal, Administration, Grundtvig International Secondary School, Mr. Olugbenga Olorunfunmi attributed the emergence of five of the school’s students in the competition to teachers’ commitment.
“In Grundtvig International Secondary School, our emphasis is on character. We also take the welfare of our teachers seriously.
“That is why teachers are committed to their jobs. That is also why many of them have spent over 15 years here without any plans to leave,” he said.
The highest awardee, Master Madu Caleb, who won two medals, said his outstanding performance came to him as a surprise in view of the calibre of students who took part in the competition.
He said: “I won silver medal in American Mathematics competitions (AMC) and gold medal in Kangourou Sans Frontieres (KSF).
“I have also won other medals from various competitions including Junior Engineers, Technicians and Scientists (JETS), Science Teachers Association of Nigeria (STAN), Annual National Mathematics competition (ANMC).”
The 12-year-old Imo State indigene linked his success to his teachers’ commitment, just as he expressed appreciation to the organizers for creating the platform for him to excel.
