THE search for the best students in mathematics in secondary schools in Nigeria this year continues as registration for the 2019 edition of Cowbellpedia Secondary School Mathematics competition closes on Sunday, February 3.
The marketing manager of Promasidor Nigeria Limited, Abiodun Ayodeji, said each school is entitled to put forward five candidates who must be between 10 and 18 years old for each of the junior and senior categories of the competition.
He explained that the 21-year-old initiative had really made many more students across the country to develop interest in the study of mathematics and also in science subjects.
According to him, Cowbellpedia which is part of Promasidor’s social interventions in education sector is a platform to identify and reward excellence in mathematics among junior and senior secondary school students within 10 and 18 years age bracket in Nigeria.
He noted that globally, investment in education has assumed an entirely new frontier that governments and corporate organisations have come to realise that building human capacity in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) courses of which mathematics is a key component, represents the driving force to attain socio-economic prosperity befitting the 21st century.
Promasidor has keyed into this vision and will not renege in the initiative but make it better each year, he said.
He explained that the competition which is free and voluntary would take three major stages-qualifying exams holding across designated centres on February 9, the release of results on June 1st and the TV quiz series show to commence June 29- for winners to emerge.
He said just like the previous editions, the competition gives special consideration for nomination of at least two female students in both categories in a mixed school as a way of contributing to girl-child education policy of the country.
Ayodeji disclosed that while overall winners in both categories would go home with N2 million each and an all-expense paid education excursion abroad and other gifts, their first and second runners-up would receive N1.5 million and N1 million each respectively and their respective teachers to get half a million, N400,000 and N300,000 in their order of performance.
He said the company’s expectation this year is to have more participants and healthier competitive edition.