Promasidor Nigeria once again puts its weight behind the development of maths
Abuja, Nigeria, 20 June, 2013: “As part of its corporate social responsibility, Promasidor Nigeria’s vision is to give all eligible Nigerians the opportunity to participate in the Cowbell National Secondary Schools Mathematics Competition (NASSMAC) in a bid to improve their performance in mathematics.” These were the words of Chief Keith Richards, managing director of the company, at the prize-giving ceremony held in Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) last Thursday to unveil the national champions of the 2013 Cowbell National Secondary Schools Mathematics Competition (NASSMAC). “The primary objective of the CSR initiative is to arouse and re-awaken interest in mathematics amongst secondary school students as a road map to nation- building,” he added.
Richards noted that the ‘current’ pass rates in Mathematics in WAEC and NECO pose a huge challenge, not only to teachers, schools and relevant government agencies, but also to all parents, Nigerians and indeed well meaning companies and organisations. “Promasidor sees this, not only as a fight to protect our future as individuals, but rather as a fight for the collective future of our beloved country. With the current growth in our economy, we urgently need to develop the human resource capability to drive, support, sustain and surpass our vision,” Richards said.
Professor Adewale Solarin, Director-General and Chief Executive of the National Mathematical Centre in a keynote address, noted that NASSMAC is Promasidor’s contribution to the efforts of the Federal Government of Nigeria to ensure the technological development of the country through the popularisation of mathematics and mathematical sciences amongst the youth of this country.
In the senior category, the first prize winner got a cash prize of N300,000, second prize N250,000, third prize N200,000 while in the junior category, the first prize winner carted home N250,000, second prize N200,000 and N150,000 for the third position. Besides this, the best 10 students in the senior category at the national level got laptops. The national champions and their teachers in both categories will be sponsored on an all expense paid vacation by Promasidor.