A total of six students had a chance to represent Rwanda at the recently concluded Pan-African Mathematics Olympiad (PAMO). PAMO is a competition in mathematics for high school students around the continent. Top students in each country are selected based on national problem solving competitions. This was Rwanda’s first ever participation at the event and the team managed to win both silver and bronze medals. Arun Shanmuganathan the coordinator of the event in Rwanda explains that selection for the team was done from hundreds of schools across the country with the support of University of Rwanda’s Pi day (International Day of Mathematics) competition and African Institute of Mathematical Sciences. “In Rwanda, we had thousands of students from different schools sit the earlier rounds of competition. From these, the top six students were selected - 3 boys and 3 girls, to represent the country at PAMO,” he says. This year’s competition was held virtually with students sitting the competition in their home countries. The main motivation for this competition, according to Shanmuganathan is to develop and encourage problem solving in schools, and to also create space for top students to succeed. This year’s competition was held virtually with students sitting the competition in their home countries. The host nation was Tunisia but due to COVID-19 related restrictions, travel was not feasible. “All students were tested before entering the AIMS premises and before re-entering their schools. The same protocols were enforced at every centre and there was a live stream of the examination room to the organising committee in Tunisia.” Focus on girls Shanmuganathan notes that the focus on ‘Gender responsive pedagogy’ has helped Rwanda get to a point where in fact, the girls have performed even better than the boys in this competition with two of the medals from girls. This, he says, involves having strong female role models in mathematics, recognising the need to share their experience with other girls, participating in other competitions for girls alone to give them more exposure and generally being aware of each and every student’s talents and helping them excel in those areas. Students pose for a photo after the competition. Honorine Munezero, a participant from Lycée Notre Dame de Cîteauxit appreciates the fact that she was able to take part in the competition. “It is a big step for me to compete in the Pan-African Mathematics Olympiad, it is very important for my background and for all of us who have been part of this competition. I expected a lot from our team even though it was our first time, I had faith that we were going to perform well,” she says. Abdulkarim Mugisha, from Riviera High School notes that he learnt a lot from the competition highlighting that the maths from the competition was different from that they normally deal with in class. “They were very hard problems. It was tough, but it was better than I was expected. That is why I am humbled and honoured to have been part of it, getting to represent the whole country is a big deal and the whole experience taught me a lot.” Joseph Desire Abayo, from Ecole des Sciences Byimana shares his experience noting that when taking part in such a competition, one has to use their brain and reasoning. “That is what was required of this competition. It’s not about cramming formulas, you need to think. It was very difficult but practising this kind of problem solving increases your capacity of reasoning and thinking,” Mugisha says. Shanmuganathan appreciates efforts from teachers who he commends for a huge role they played in helping the students get this far. “They were co-ordinating a lot, giving them extra training opportunities. Without the teachers, and even the parents, their success would not have been possible.” He notes that this win is huge as it is Rwanda’s first ever participation at an International Mathematics Competition. “It also means that we are now eligible to participate in the IMO (International Mathematics Olympiad) which is the global version of the competition. This will take place in July later this year. Generally, students who get medals at competitions like PAMO and IMO get scholarships to the top universities around the world. In fact, this competition allowed me to get a scholarship at the University of Cambridge and we hope that success in these competitions will continue to enable the world to see Rwandan students succeed on an international stage.”
