Rwandan secondary school students have won five silver and four bronze medals in the 30th Pan-African Mathematics Olympiad (PAMO), a continental competition in which 31 country teams participated.

During the awarding ceremony held in Kigali, on Sunday, May 21, Rwanda’s team became the fourth overall winner, after Morocco, Algeria and South Africa.

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The first PAMO competition to be hosted by Rwanda began on May 15, bringing together more than 170 secondary students from 31 African countries. Moroccans won three gold medals. The overall male winner was Youcef Kenane from Algeria, while the top female winner was Hiba el Farchioui from Morocco.

This was Rwanda’s third participation and the biggest win in the PAMO competition, organized by the African Mathematics Union. In the previous two competitions, the country team won four bronze medals.

Each country team consists of three girls and three boys, accompanied by a leader and deputy.

The contestants took part in two four-hour 30-minute exams involving original questions, selected by the PAMO Problem Selection Committee and Jury.

Prof Sam Yala, the president of African Institute of Mathematical Sciences (AIMS) Rwanda centre, one of this year’s organisers, said the PAMO competition is about raising awareness about the mathematics talents of young Africans, especially those pursuing science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM).

"This competition is also a way to reinforce science and mathematics education. And mathematics is very important in STEM education. So, we want to use this competition to help the secondary students to experiment and develop their problem-solving skills from an early stage,” he said.

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Desire Joseph Abayo, one of the Rwandan silver medallists, said the team showed a remarkable improvement from the previous two competitions, in which Rwanda won bronze medals.

"I am very happy to have won a silver medal and become the 11th overall winner. It is thanks to our trainers and practice that we have come this far. There is no doubt that in future competitions Rwanda could scoop gold medals,” Abayo said.

Ornella Nina Umukundwa, another Rwandan participant who contested for the second time, said: "Last time I failed to get a medal, but with passion and persistence, I have now scooped a bronze medal.”

"We recognise the importance of mathematics as fundamental to all sciences as it relates to problem-solving and critical thinking,” said Rwanda’s Minister of Education, Dr Valentine Uwamariya.

"By building and supporting mathematics talents and young people, starting from the lowest level, we are building the future of the country. We are looking at ways of improving our country’s economy by basing on the knowledge of our children.”