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'Wish we had more mathematics at school'
LAHORE, Aug 3: Western countries, unlike
Pakistan, pay due attention to mathematics and mastering the subject is
essential to ace the International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO), said
participants of IMO on Thursday.
A six-member Pakistani team participated
in the IMO last month in Hanoi, Vietnam and won the bronze medal and the 'Award
of Honour'. The team members, all A' Level students, were Muhammad Fahd Waseem,
Mustafa Abbas, Saif Sultan, Shoaib Afzal, Awais Tariq, and Zaeem Hussain and
were led by Dr AD Raza Chaudhry and deputy leader Ahmed Mahmood
Qureshi.
Zaeem Hussain
(Student of Aitchison College)
I
won the bronze medal in the IMO. IMO was much more difficult than I thought, as
experts at math from 93 countries were participating. It is an honour for us
that we represented Pakistan and made our country proud. I feel there is room
for improvement in our education system. Our schools do not pay due attention to
mathematics as do international schools. The subject's importance cannot be
ignored.
Sohaib Afzal
(Student of Beaconhouse School in
Islamabad)
Experiencing the IMO was a very interesting event of my life.
I won the 'Award of Honour' on solving a question out of six given questions. I
observed that the syllabus of schools of other countries was much closer to the
difficulty level of the IMO. For decades, we have been taught how to solve
mathematical problems, but we have never been explained the concepts and
practicality of those problems and their solutions.
Awais Tariq
(Student of Aitchison College)
The IMO experience was truly
unique for me. The A' levels curriculum is good but still needs updating to be
closer to standards of developed countries. As far as how helpful our curriculum
is for the IMO, I say there is much more practice and guidance needed than we
had time for. The government should revise the selection criteria for the IMO
and I feel that people from various districts should also be checked for more
mathematical inclination.
Saif Sultan
(Student of Saint Marry
Academy, Rawalpindi)
As compared to others, we were better prepared. It
was great to interact with mathematical experts of other countries. Our math
course is fairly well compiled, but to be trained for the IMO, we would need it
to be improved. Countries that came first and second in the IMO have been
participating for years, therefore it is a great achievement for us to have won
the bronze medal.
Mustafa Abbas
(Student of Beaconhouse School
in Karachi)
I think we proved that Pakistanis are smart people by winning
the awards. We have a lot of smart brains that need to be shaped, and that
coaching is what we lack. The standard preparation time for the IMO is three
years and we only got a year to get prepared. We need a better math curriculum
to keep up with the IMO pace. I think we can win the competition if the
government supports us further.
Fahad Waseem
(Student of
Karachi Grammar School)
I think we are not yet in position to compete
with developed countries on math. Our team and our coach Dr Barbu Bercean worked
really hard for the IMO. Our math curriculum was set up umpteenth years ago and
has not been updated yet. I think the course needs a revision. I guess the
Higher Education Commission (HEC) is working on it as it has included math in
the entry tests for universities. Daily times
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