By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The phobia for Mathematics among students arises from the lack of patience to understand its formulae, Master Samuel Faith Adelaja of Bibo Oluwa Academy, Ilesha, Osun State has revealed.
Adelaja, who is participating in the on-going 2017 Cowbellpedia Secondary School Mathematics Television Quiz Show, sponsored by Cowbell, the flagship brand of Promasidor Nigeria Limited, explained that Mathematics is more about logic and critical thinking.
He noted that students get frustrated with the subject because it takes time and requires patience to know it.
Adelaja explained that, “Students will get on with Mathematics if they practice daily or regularly. It takes time, but they should not be discouraged. The fact is that they don’t know that it requires a lot of perseverance. So, when they don’t get solutions on time, they feel depressed and frustrated.”
In the 9th preliminary group contest of the senior category few days ago, Adelaja and Franklin Ezenduka of College of Immaculate Conception, Uwani, Enugu State got the semi-final slots at the expense of Ekene Onyekaba of Kings College, Onikan Lagos State.
Others who fell short were Abdulmueez Yusuf of NITC, Abuja, Federal Capital Territory; Aisha Salisu of Michael Omonogun Memorial Secondary School, Lokoja, Kogi State and Shedrack Dauda of SSSLID Science Schools, Badariya, Kebbi State.
Adelaja, a semi-finalist in the Junior category of the 2015 edition, was confident of his chances this time around.
“My expectation is to be the champion. I have won six prizes in other competitions, but Cowbellpedia remains my ultimate dream,” he told journalists outside the studio in Lagos.
Ezenduka, whose dream is to be a civil engineer, is driving himself towards winning the ultimate prize. “I feel cool scaling this hurdle. I really thank God. But my ultimate ambition is to be the 2017 Cowbellpedia champion,” he said.
In the junior category, Greatman Nwachukwu of Dority International Secondary School, Aba, Abia State; and Osasere Egharevba of Graceland International School, Port Harcourt, Rivers State scaled the hurdle into the semi-finals.
They left behind Oluwafunmito Adedeji of Obafemi Awolowo University Staff School, Ile-Ife, Osun State; Wisdom Ede of Logos International Secondary School, Owerri, Imo State; Muhammed Anas of Community Science Secondary School, Kaura Namoda, Zamfara State and Ahmad Ado of Jigawa Sate Academy for the Gifted, Bamaina, Jigawa State.
Nwachukwu, who got a response time of 2.17 seconds, scored 98 percent in the qualifying examination conducted nationwide in March 2017. He aspires to win the ultimate prize and make his family and State proud.
Egharevba, who also scored 98 percent in the qualifying examination, described the experience as “great and exciting.” The 13-year-old expresses hope to qualify for the final and wear 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 prayed and practiced alot,” she said.
The ultimate prize in the Senior and Junior categories is N1 million each and an all-expense-paid educational excursion outside the country. The first and second runners-up for each category will go home with N750,000 and N500,000 respectively.
Each teacher of the 2017 champions will be awarded N400,000, while those of the first and second runners-up will receive N300,000 and N200,000 respectively. Also, the winning schools will be rewarded with Mathematics textbooks, desktop computers and printers.
The 2017 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.
Parents and stakeholders in the education sector have also lauded Promasidor Nigeria for bankrolling the initiative which is aimed at discovering as well as celebrating young scientists and future inventors in the country.