Stakeholders in education sector have raised their thumbs for the seamless conduct of the 2016 Cowbellpedia Qualifying examination held nationwide on Saturday, 19th March, 2016.
Obviously excited by the prospects in the competition, students and their parents have also commended the initiative by Promasidor Nigeria Limited, the promoter of the project.
A cross section of parents, students and teachers who spoke to our correspondents at the venue of the examination in Lagos and Ogun States praised The National Examination Council, NECO for the smooth and hitch-free exercise. They also want the government and other corporate citizens to emulate the great initiative by Promasidor.
Mr. James Oluwatoyin, a teacher of one the participating schools at Ifo Center in Ogun State, expressed satisfaction with the exercise and enjoined the promoter of the initiative to keep the flag flying. The same sentiment was echoed at Ojodu center in Lagos by Mrs. Nifemi Ajelowo, also a teacher in one of the participating schools. She specifically praised NECO for the crisis-free examination and the credibility brought to bear upon the exercise.
Festus Tettey, Head of Marketing, Promasidor Nigeria Limited, makers of Cowbell Milk, has equally expressed delight at the conduct of the qualifying written examination
Tettey, in a chat with journalists, commended the officials of States’ Ministries of Education and National Examinations Council (NECO), who were on ground at each location to ensure the examinations were conducted in free and fair environment. He therefore gave them thumbs up for the professional way they handled the process.
He explained that Promasidor designed the Cowbellpedia Secondary School Mathematics TV Quiz to discover and nurture talented students in secondary schools in Nigeria. He said the participating schools were given equal opportunity in the qualifying examination as five students in the junior category and five in the senior cadre represented each school.
In conjunction with the Ministry of Education, the Head of Marketing said Promasidor arranged for centres in strategic locations across the country in order to make accessibility easy for the participating students and their teachers.
In Lagos alone, examinations were written in 26 centres while in Ogun State, 9 schools were used as centres. Among the schools used in Lagos as centres for the examination are: Ransome Kuti Memorial Senior High School, Mushin; Ikeja Senior Grammar School, Oshodi; Kuramo College, Victoria Island; Amuwo Odofin Community Secondary School, Mile 2; and Oriwu Model College, Ikorodu.
Similarly, Remo Secondary School, Shagamu; Abeokuta Grammar School, Abeokuta; Ansarrudeen Comprehensive College, Otta; and Adeola Odutola College, Ijebu Ode; were some of the schools used as centres in Ogun State.
After 18 years of involvement with the sponsorship of Mathematics competition in Nigeria, Mr. Olivier Thiry, Managing Director of Promasidor Nigeria Limited explained that the company significantly increased the prize money for the finals for both students and teachers. This year he said, the top prize student winner in each category will go home with One Million Naira in addition to other prizes, while the teacher will be awarded Four Hundred Thousand Naira.
“All these improvements are to underscore Promasidor’s effort to provide a credible platform that discovers, recognizes and rewards excellence in Mathematics, a critical component of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education in Nigeria. This is in addition to the quality nutrition that is provided by the Cowbell brand for the nourishment of the Nigerian populace especially children,” he said.
