Relentless preparation and long hours of practice are crucial requirement for excellent results in Mathematics competition.
This is the submission of Israel Adegboyega, a participant in the on-going 2018 Cowbellpedia Secondary School Mathematics Television Quiz Show, sponsored by Cowbell Milk, the flagship brand from Promasidor Nigeria Limited.
Israel, a student of Scholars Universal Secondary School, Ota, Ogun State, explained that success in Mathematics demands preparation and determination in order to overcome the initial fear that scare a lot of students.
“The magic is that students that are not very good at Mathematics should try and practice it more often in order to improve. For instance, ahead of this competition, I practised Mathematics for about 10 hours daily,” he said.
He advised his fellow students to ignore the perception of Mathematics being challenging, adding that the subject nurtures the individual’s power reasoning, creativity, abstract or spatial thinking, critical thinking, problem-solving ability and even effective communication skills.
In the senior category preliminary group B contest last weekend, Israel and Isinkaye Praise of Federal Government Academy Suleja, Niger State, qualified for the semi-finals after squaring up against Fakorede Olufunmbi of Bibo Oluwa Academy, Ilesha, Osun State and Vincent Ezeanyagu of Baptist High School, Naraguta-Jos, Plateau State.
Other contestants at the preliminary stage included Adegbamiye Oluwagbemiga of Reality High School, Ilesha, Osun State and Haruna Hassan Kabaju of Nigerian Tulip International College for Boys, Damaturu, Yobe State.
Israel, a first timer in the competition, is confident of his chances. “My expectation is to be the champion. Cowbellpedia remains my ultimate dream,” he told journalists outside the studio in Lagos last week.
Praise who could not make it beyond the preliminary round two years ago, hopes to qualify for the finals and win the ultimate prize this time around. “I feel cool scaling this hurdle. I really thank God, but my ultimate ambition is to be the 2018 Cowbellpedia Champion,” she said.
In the junior category, Benny Sampson-Uche of Graceland International School, Port Harcourt, Rivers State and Jefferson Ejaife of DSC Aladja, Delta State, pulled through to the semi-finals.
This was achieved at the expense of Otutochi Nwadinkpa of Nigerian Tulip International College for Boys, Abuja; Oyongwo Gwanette of Britarch Secondary School, Umuahia, Abia State; Festus Ebarekor of University Preparatory Secondary School, Benin, Edo State; and Mustapha Mohammed of Jigawa State Academy for the Gifted, Bamaina, Jigawa State.
Benny who garnered 145 points in the second round is described as “small but mighty”, the 13-year-old believes he has all it takes to emerge the 2018 champion and make his school and state proud following the footsteps of his school mate, Jessey Uche-Nwichi, the 2017 junior champion.
Ejaife also amassed 120 points to win in the second round. He is looking forward to going all the way to the final and wearing the crown. “I feel very happy to scale the hurdle, especially being my first time of participating in the competition. I hope to get to the final. I have done a lot of prayers and practice,” he said.
The 2018 edition is significant as it marks the 20th anniversary of Cowbell and Mathematics. Prizes have been doubled in the spirit of the celebration.
The winner of each category will receive N2 million with an all-expense paid educational excursion outside the country, while the first and second runners-up will receive N1.5 million and N1 million respectively.
The teachers of the top prize winners will be go home with N500,000, while those of the first and second runners-up will receive N400,000 and N300,000 respectively.
Also, the winning schools will be rewarded with Mathematics textbooks, desktop computers and printers.
The 2018 Cowbellpedia Secondary Schools Mathematic TV Quiz continues this weekend. It will be aired to millions of viewers on DSTv Africa Magic Family Channel, AIT Network and other six television stations across the country.
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