By Najeeb Sani
Nearly 100 girls aged 7 to 18 from public and private schools across Gombe State competed in the 6th Edition of the Bloom Mathematics Challenge (BMC) held at the National Library of Nigeria, Gombe Branch last Saturday.
Organised annually by Bloom Innovations, a Gombe-based TechEd organisation, the competition seeks to boost the confidence of young girls in solving mathematics problems and encourage their participation in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) careers.
Speaking at the event, Hannah Kabrang, the Executive Director of the organisation and convener of the competition said this year’s edition brought together girls from across Gombe State to compete in Primary, Junior and Senior categories.
She added that the participants competed mainly in teams of three, with a new individual category introduced for the first time where contestants answered 20 questions within 30 minutes.
Bloom Innovations also reaffirmed its commitment to inclusivity as girls from the Special Education Centre, Gombe, participated for the third consecutive year.
Unlike traditional competitions, she noted that the challenge emphasised collaboration as girls primarily competed in teams to solve mathematical problems.
Also speaking at the event, the state project coordinator of the Adolescent Girls Initiative for Learning and Empowerment (AGILE), Dr Amina Haruna Abdul represented by the communication officer of agency, Mr Sa’idu Bappa Malala, commended the initiative and highlighted opportunities for collaboration.
“We saw a lot of areas of potential partnership between AGILE and Bloom Innovations. The level of organisation is commendable and the confidence displayed by these girls is very encouraging,” he said.
In his remarks, Mr Yakubu, the Librarian of the National Library of Nigeria, Gombe Branch, representing the National Library, noted that the library was proud to host the event and support efforts to promote learning among young girls.
Meanwhile, winners have emerged across categories including; Pinnacle Minds School which clinched first place in the Primary category, followed by Tunfure Primary School and Orji Primary School.
While Matrix International Academy dominated both Junior and Senior categories, taking first positions in both.
Graceland Royal Academy and Police Academy, Kumo, placed second and third in the Junior category, while Police Secondary School, Kumo, and Government Day Science Secondary School took second and third in the Senior category.
In the individual Category, Tabitha Daniel Yohanna emerged top in Primary, while Adria Ishaku won in Junior Secondary and Fatima Muhammad Waziri took the top spot in Senior Secondary.
