‘Why you should prepare students for Olympiads’

The Director/Chief Executive of the National Mathematical Centre (NMC), Prof. Promise Mebine, has urged schools, especially mathematics and sciences teachers to organise regular Olympiad training for their students to keep them abreast with new topics in the subjects.

Prof. Mebine, who made this known in Abuja in a statement, said the centre will organise the Nigerian National Mathematical Sciences Olympiad award in February.

He said the award is part of the centre’s efforts to develop and encourage young Nigerian students in the learning and study of mathematics.

“The competition is meant to select and adequately prepare Nigerian students to compete with other countries in the International Mathematical Sciences Olympiad in five subjects. The five subjects are mathematics, physics, chemistry, biology and informatics,” he said.

While emphasising the essence of the Olympiad, he said students who take part in the competition never remain the same as they are transformed to face mathematical and scientific challenges in the future.

“The essence of the competition is not only to win laurels but to assist students and teachers deal with difficult concepts in the mathematical sciences, which teachers ordinarily avoid teaching in schools as a result of their limited knowledge in such topics,” he said.