Cowbell Mathematics Competition 2015

The Cowbell National Secondary Schools Mathematics Competition is an event sponsored by Cowbell Milk (a quality food product from Promasidor Nigeria Limited) and approved by the Federal Ministry of Education.

We have been running this competition nationally for over a decade and it is widely acclaimed as one of the most credible educational competitions in Nigeria that truly seeks to reward excellence.

We wish to express our sincere gratitude for the total support and encouragement given to the competition during the previous editions and to seek your continued support in our efforts to help our students develop an interest in mathematics, science and vocational subjects, in line with the National Curriculum, so that we can together move education forward in Nigeria.

The 2015 edition marks the 15th year sponsorship of NASSMAC by Cowbell. To commemorate this feat, the Second Stage has been modified to include an interactive QUIZ format (Quarter-Final, Semi-final & Final).

Also, the prize money has been improved for both students and teachers. This is part of Cowbell’s effort in rewarding excellence.

There are prizes for Candidates and Teachers both at the State and National levels. Apart from cash prizes, the National Champions and their Teachers will be sponsored to an all expense paid vacation.

The best three schools in each category will receive Mathematics Textbooks and High Class Metal Sign Posts bearing the name of the school. In addition, the Schools producing the first Prize Winner in each category at the National level will receive 5 Desktop Computers and a Printer each.

How to enter

1. The Mathematics Competition is open to students from 10 - 18 years of age attending full time Secondary Education in both Public and Private Schools in Nigeria.

2. Entry into this competition is FREE.

3. Each School is required to present their BEST six (6) students in Mathematics (three from JSS3 and three from SSS2), irrespective of sex, religion, tribe or state of origin, to enhance their chances of qualifying for the next stage of the competition.

4. Each School head should collect six (6) registration forms which must be correctly filled, stamped and signed by the School Principal and presented by the Students to the offcials at the examination centre on the examination day.

School Principals may also download registration forms online at www.promasidor-ng.com.

Forms can also be obtained at the various State Ministries of Education Pan Nigeria and Promasidor Nig. Ltd, depots and offices nationwide. Please note that photocopied forms are allowed, as long as the School Principal endorses it.
5. The organizers would like this competition announced daily at the assembly and the posters conspicuously displayed at all Notice Boards, Assembly Halls and School entrances.

Rules and Regulations

1. The First stage examination will hold in all states of the federation including the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja on Saturday, March 14th, 2015 at 10:00am. However, accreditation of all candidates begins at 8:00am.

2. Candidates must come to their designated examination centres with their Registration Forms.

3. Late comers will not be allowed to write the examination.

4. Candidates are to come along with only a pencil, biro, eraser, ruler and statistical table, NO CALCULATORS WILL BE ALLOWED.

5. Any act of misconduct will lead to disqualifcation of the candidate.

6. All candidates MUST be in their School Uniform.

7. Please refer to examination centre list to check for the centre nearest you.

8. The competition is ONLY open to Students in JSS 3 and SSS 2. Candidates in any other Grade/Class will be disqualifed.

9. The decision of the board of examiners is fnal! We shall not enter into any correspondence with anyone regarding the conduct of this examination.

Second stage Reloaded

The mechanics of Second Stage has been refreshed to include an exciting quiz segment. 54 Students from junior and senior category will qualify for the Second Stage reloaded.

The top 20 students from around the country and representatives from 33 states of the federation and the FCT.

Category a: junior category
This category is made up of students in JSS 3.

Category b: Senior Category
This category is made up of students in SSS 2.

please note

· Candidates are advised to check their results online at www.promasidor-ng.com as from Wednesday, May 20th, 2015.

·We strongly recommend that students sit for the examination at centres nearest to them

· Results can also be obtained from respective State Ministries of Education and Promasidor Nigeria Ltd Offces nationwide.

· Only qualified candidates will be contacted for the second stage of the examination

· The decision of the Board of Examiners is final. We shall not enter into any correspondence with anyone regarding the conduct of this examination

· The Second Stage of the examination would be in an exciting Quiz format – Quarter-finals, Semi- finals and finals.

50% Pass English & Mathematics says NECO

THE National Examinations Council has released the November/December 2014 results with the examination body saying there is remarkable improvement when
compared its previous examinations.

The results show 52.94 per cent credit pass in English Language and 55.37 per cent credit pass in Mathematics.

Registrar and the Chief Executive Officer of NECO, Prof. Promise Nwachukwu Okpala, while announcing the results at the council’s national headquarters in Minna, Niger State, on Wednesday, noted that the results were an improvement on the previous exams conducted between 2011 and 2014.

Okpala said that 63,445 candidates registered for the examinations, out of which 61,386 actually sat for the papers with 30.57 per cent of the candidates recording five credits and above.

An analysis of the other core subjects showed that 53,848 candidates sat for Biology with 26,947 pass credit level, representing 50.04 per cent; Chemistry had 28,250 candidates with 14, 858 pass at credit level, representing 51.62 per cent; 28,222 sat for Physics with 57 pass at credit level, representing 0.20 per cent.

Also, 1,753 candidates sat for Further Mathematics and 395 passed at credit level, representing 22.53 per cent; and Agricultural Science had 41,080 candidates with 12,006 pass at credit level, representing 29.22 per cent.

The registrar said 620 cases of malpractices were recorded. Okpala urged students to shun all forms of examination malpractices, saying the council had consistently made attempts to eradicate examination malpractices.

Researches shows girls lead boys in academicachievement globally

CONSIDERABLE attention has been paid to how
boys’ educational achievements in science and
math compare to girls’ accomplishments in
those areas, often leading to the assumption
that boys outperform girls in these areas.
Now, using international data, researchers
at the University of Missouri, United States, and
the University of Glasgow in Glasgow, Scotland,
have determined that girls outperform boys in
educational achievement in 70 per cent of the
countries they studied regardless of the level of
gender, political, economic or social equality.

Curators Professor of Psychological
Sciences in the College of Arts and Science at
MU, David Geary, said: “We studied the
educational achievement levels of 1.5 million
15-year-olds from around the world using data
collected between 2000 and 2010,” “Even in
countries where women’s liberties are severely
restricted, we found that girls are outperforming
boys in reading, mathematics, and science
literacy by age 15, regardless of political,
economic, social or gender equality issues and
policies found in those countries.”

According to the data, boys fall behind girls
in overall achievement across reading,
mathematics, and science in 70 percent of the
countries studied. Boys outperform girls in only
three countries or regions: Colombia, Costa Rica
and the Indian state, Himachal Pradesh. Boys
and girls had similar educational achievements
in the United States and United Kingdom.
In countries known for relatively low gender
equality ratings, such as Qatar, Jordan and the
United Arab Emirates, the educational
achievement gap is relatively large and favours
girls.

The one exception worldwide is among
students in economically developed nations
where high achieving boys outperform high
achieving girls, researchers said.
“With the exception of high-achievers, boys
have poorer educational outcomes than girls
around the world, independent of social equality
indicators,” said Gijsbert Stoet, reader in
psychology at the University of Glasgow.

“Results show that a commitment to gender
equality on its own is not enough to close the
achievement gaps in global education; the gap
is not increasing. Although it is vital that we
promote gender equality in schools, we also
need to make sure that we’re doing more to
understand why these gaps, especially among
boys, persist and what other policies we can
develop to close them.”

The study also has important implications for
educational policy, the researchers said.
“The data will influence how policymakers
think about the options available,” said Geary.

“For example, to increase levels of equal
opportunities in education. We believe that
policymakers and educators should not expect
that broad progress in social equality will
necessarily result in educational equality. In
fact, we found that with the exception of high
achievers, boys have poorer educational
outcomes than girls around the world,
independent of social equality indicators.

Therefore, in order to effectively close the gaps
in achievement, education policymakers should
consider factors other than political, economic
and social equality, and especially as related to
boys’ overall achievement and high-achieving
girls’ interest in mathematics and science.”