1,000 schoolchildren to participate in Mathematics Camp
More than 1,000 schoolchildren across the country are to benefit from this year's Mathematics Boot Camp (MBC).
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The MBC, organised annually by the Meagasa Mathematics Academy, headed by the renowned mathematician, Professor Sitsofe E. Anku, is aimed at reducing the high number of failures in the subject in both the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) and the West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE).
In an interview, Prof. Anku, who is the brain behind the MBC, said currently as many as 55 per cent of students usually failed in Mathematics, for which reason his academy wanted to whip up interest in the subject to raise the number of passes throughout the country to 85 per cent.
"There is a perception in this country that Mathematics is a very difficult subject. As a result, most students hate the subject with a passion. This is a perception we want to eradicate, and that is why we are organising this boot camp during this vacation to make the subject very attractive and easy for participants to apply the principles when they go back to their respective schools," he explained.
He said some teachers made Mathematics to look like something from space and untouchable and, therefore, only a few intelligent students could handle the subject with ease.
"This is very wrong. Everything on this earth contains Mathematics and so there is no point in making schoolchildren run away from it," he added.
Prof Anku explained that apart from a registration fee of GH¢30 cedis to be paid by each participant, the boot camp and the tuition are free.
"The reason for the registration fee is that we will use the said amount to acquire learning materials such as folding papers for shapes and Mathematics textbooks written by me will be added for free," he said.
Prof Anku also said his academy was at the moment training volunteers who were Mathematics tutors from all over the 10 regions to have the correct attitude towards the subject before imparting knowledge to the participants.
The MBC, which is being organised with support from the Graphic Communications Group Ltd, will officially take off simultaneously in all the regions for both first and second-cycle students on August 26 and end on September 6, 2013.
Some of the towns in which the camp will be located are North Kaneshie, Mamprobi, Tema and Nungua, all in Accra, Tarkwa, Somanya, Tain, Ho, Koforidua, Wa, Tamale, Koforidua and Kumasi.
By Hadiza Nuhhu-Billa Quansah