As entries for this year’s Cowbellpedia Secondary School Mathematics TV Quiz Show open, Promasidor Nigeria Limited has reiterated its commitment to the improvement of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education in Nigeria.
Briefing journalists in Lagos, the Managing Director, Mr. Olivier Thiry, said the thrust this year is to provide a credible platform that would identify and reward excellence in mathematics among junior and senior secondary school students in the country.
Thiry said across the world, investment in education has assumed an entirely new frontier that governments and corporate organisations have come to realise that building capacity STEM courses, which mathematics is a key component of represents the driving force for development in the 21st century.
Like in the previous editions, he said the competition is open to junior secondary three (JS3) and senior secondary two (SS2) students from 10-18 years attending full time secondary education in public and private schools in Nigeria.
While entry into the competition is free, he added that contestants are required to register online or pick up a registration form at the state ministry of education offices nationwide. The competition is divided into two stages: Stage one qualifying written examination and stage two TV quiz show.
“For the stage one, we are continuing with the initiative that we started in 2016 for mixed secondary schools to nominate a minimum two girls for each category to represent such school. This is our own little way of encouraging the girl child to take interest in education especially the STEM courses.”
The first prize for this year’s edition is N1 million and an all-expense paid educational excursion abroad, while the first and second runners up will get N750,000 and N500,000 respectively.
The teachers of the winners will be awarded with N400,000, while teachers of the first and second runners-up will receive N300,000 and N200,000 respectively.
In his remarks, the Director, Quality Assurance, National Examinations Council (NECO), Dr. Ikechukwu Anyanwu, commended Promasidor for the initiative which he said has been of immense benefit to mathematics education in Nigeria.
The 2016 winners in the junior and senior categories, Miss Juliet Ekoko and Master Ayooluwa Oguntade also commended the company for the opportunity given to them to horn their mathematics skills through the competition.
For the Cowbellpedia initiative, Promasidor was voted the best company in education in the SERA CSR awards and the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations, Lagos chapter awards in 2016.
