The first round of the 8th edition of the Kenya mathematical Olympiad will be held on October 5 at the various participating high schools. The top 150 students will then be invited for the second round at the University of Nairobi on October 14.
The top 20 from the second round will be undergo a selection test from which two teams will be chosen to represent Kenya at the International Mathematical Olympiad and the Pan African Mathematical Olympiad in 2018. Registration is currently ongoing and the deadline is on October 4.
The Kenya Mathematics Olympiad is an annual outreach programme of the School of Mathematics, University of Nairobi that targets high school students. Teams are then selected represent Kenya at the Pan African Mathematical Olympiad and the International Mathematical Olympiad. .
In July this year, Kenya participated in the 25th Pan African mathematical Olympiad held in Rabat Morocco which was hosted by Mohamed V University.
The Kenyan team comprises of Ben Kyalo and Brian Kirui (Nairobi School), Beracah Nyangor (Alliance Girls High School), Demetrius Sarrin Chisombe (Alliance High school), Isha Khapre (Rosslyn Academy) and Njeri Ndungu (Moi Girls High School Nairobi).
Kyalo received a certificate of honorable mention which is an award given to contestants who score full marks in at least one question but do not get a medal. He was also the best student in the 7th Kenya Mathematics Olympiad. In the PAMO 2016 held last year in Senegal, Cynthia Migika of Alliance Girls High School got the first ever silver medal for Kenya
Five of the team members in PAMO 2017, along with Charles Opiyo from Maranda School, also participated in the 58th International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO 2017) in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil from July 13- 23 this year. The host institution was IMPA. The team did not get a medal at IMO 2017 but the experience was very enlightening.
The Students also had a chance to tour the city and meet with other students from 110 countries.
The teams was led by Dr James Katende, a Lecturer at the School of Mathematics University of Nairobi and deputized by Dr Jared Ong’aro in 2017 and Mrs Ruth Oliech of Moi Girls High School Nairobi in 2016, while Mr Silas Wafula of Makini School was an observer. Mathematics Association of Kenya also supports this endeavour.
This was the second appearance for Kenya at International mathematical Olympiad after the maiden appearance in 2016 in Hong Kong.
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The teams for IMO 2017 and PAMO 2017 were selected after participating in the third and final round of the 7th Kenya Mathematics Olympiad which was held on the 18th of March 2017 at Alliance Girls High School.
The third round of the KMO was conducted by Dr Katende, Charles Ondunga, Dr Benjamin Kikwai and assisted by Mathematics Students from the school of Mathematics, University of Nairobi.
The team members then attended a two week training camp from April 17-28, 2017 hosted by Alliance Girls High School. The training was conducted by Dr James Katende and Dr Jared Ongaro from the School of Mathematics, University of Nairobi.
The air tickets of the team for the two events were sponsored by BDO East Africa, Haco Tiger brands, and CEMASTEA.
“The Kenya Mathematics Olympiad provides an ideal opportunity for interaction between the University lecturers and High School students and teachers and also helps to promote and improve performance in mathematics at the High School Level. It is worth noting that in KCSE 2016, Alliance girls high School had a record 214 students scoring grade A in mathematics after One of their students got a silver medal at the 24th Pan African Mathematics Olympiad held in Senegal in 2016. More support is required from corporate sponsors to keep the KMO alive and sustainable,” said Katende.
Kenya will be hosting the 26th Pan African Mathematical Olympiad in 2018 and the host institution will be the School of Mathematics, University of Nairobi. Over 20 countries will be participating and it will be an excellent opportunity for the East African countries that have not participated in PAMO before.
Information on how to register the students is available on http://www.kmo-official.co.ke.
