“Challenge Your Friend”: An open maths competition by UCMAS Western province

UCMAS franchisees of the Western Province organised “Challenge Your Friend”, an open maths competition for young children and teens, at the Buddhist Cultural Hall in Colombo 5, recently.

Around 400 students from 11 UCMAS Centres and other institutions participated in the competition. Children from five years to 14 years participated. The competition began at 9.30 a.m. and ended around noon. The Chief Guest at the competition was Rev. Sr. Sothy Emmanuel, Principal of the Primary School of Good Shepherd Convent in Kotahena.

The competition ended with a prize distribution in the evening. The Chief Guest at the awards ceremony was renowned Consultant Paediatrician Dr. Rajaratnam Ajanthan, and Colombo Zone Assistant Education Director Shyama Perera was the Special Guest of Honour.

“UCMAS (Universal Concept of Mental Arithmetic System) is a Brain Development Programme for children based on the Abacus. The programme is essentially for children in the four years to 13 years age group and we help discover the genius within them. UCMAS is represented in 83 countries around the world, with more than 3.5 million children trained globally,” an official said.

Moreover, UCMAS is an ISO certified course, and a unique skill development programme for children that was founded by Dr. Prof. Dino Wong of Malaysia. The current syllabus is based on continuous research and development.

The open maths competition is an annual event organised by UCMAS to help children develop their Rapid Mental Arithmetic skills. Model papers were shared with parents so children were well prepared for the competition. The winners were awarded trophies based on their performance and both UCMAS and nonUCMAS students were categorised separately for awards. A participation certificate was given to all.

“This competition was held this year amid mounting challenges, to boost the morale of students, as we found many children slacken after the long absence from school due to COVID-19 and other issues in the country,” the official said.

Around 400 students from 11 UCMAS Centres and other institutions participated in the competition.