UCMAS Championship: Fine-tuning Schoolchildren’s Brains with Mental Arithmetic
Children who performed exceptionally well in the recently concluded national TV competition organised by the Universal Concept of Mental Arithmetic System have been rewarded. Mary Nnah reports
UCMAS is a globally established mental mathematics programme for children between the ages of 5 and 13, using Abacus to improve schoolchildren’s mathematics skills and brain capabilities.
Twenty-seven children were awarded in various categories during the grand ceremony held in Lagos. The overall winner received N500,000 while the first and second runners-up got N300,000 and N200,000, respectively.
UCMAS Education Nigeria Limited’s Country Manager, Stephen Ofori, said the champions emerged from the 2,700 children who participated in an audition for the national TV competition across Nigeria, from which 27 children qualified for the TV show.
The award event held recently was to reward these 27 children that participated in the show; from these 27 emerged the three exceptional winners who have rewarded with cash prizes plus other incentives, while 17 children each got an educational investment of N50,000. Out of the 27, nine children from the semi-finalist got N100,000 each, while three finalists got second runner-up of 200,000 educational investment plus a cash prize of N200,000. First, the runner-up got 300,000 educational investments plus a N300,000 cash prize. The grand winner got 500,000 educational investment plus N500,000 cash price, all courtesy of the brand sponsor Indomie and Cowrywise.
“For the past seven years that we have operated in Nigeria, we have seen an outstanding jump in numbers. Currently, we have over 5,000 children that we are working with, and I believe more parents are buying into the Mental Arithmetic that can champion the growth of their children’s mental ability to enhance their education particularly,” said Ofori.
He said the benefits derived from mental arithmetic included enhanced photographic and memory skills, great listening skills, enhanced concentration, excellent presentation skills, good imagination and creativity, speed and accuracy, etc.
Speaking on the impact of the awards on the children, Ofori said, “If a child gets a reward certificate on an event they have been able to achieve, it improves their confidence, which is part of the learning process that we try to imbibe in the children.”
Ofori also revealed that more awards would come in other competitions and events in that we would be engaging more children.
“As we are talking now, we are preparing to have the biggest private-sector competition, which is hosting close to 1,500 children in Lagos,” he explained.
Speaking during the event, Senior Special Assistant on Education to the Governor of Lagos, Ms Adetola Salau, said UCMAS was a programme that every child should be encouraged to take part in.
“Mental arithmetic is something that we should incorporate, and Lagos State is open to talking about collaboration and partnership with organisations that are doing things like this,” she stated.
CEO Gemseed Children Academy, Gbagada, Mary Ohagwasi, said the UCMAS concept is a whole-brain development programme.
“I have worked with them for five years, and I have seen visible changes in the lives of the children, especially in the area of gadget substitution. Children are addicted to gadgets, and this is a way to help them demystify the fear of Mathematics, which has been a problem for our generation,” said Ohagwasi. “Now, our children feel at home with numbers, and you could see hope for technology in Nigeria with this kind of children coming up. They are comfortable and feel at peace with numbers. So, there is hope for our country, especially in the area of technology. This will help our children to lay a solid foundation for their tomorrow, so I am saying that UCMAS is for forward-looking schools.”
She said, however, that the reception to this arithmetic solution has been gradual.
While encouraging parents to put their children in the UCMAS programme and watch them grow, Customer Experience Lead at Cowrywise¸ Basirat Adebiyi said that mathematics is very important in every sphere of life and that UCMAS is currently empowering children in that regard.
