- 66 students represent UAE in annual global competition in Malaysia
- UAE wins three world championship awards and reaches finals of ‘Listening Skill Competition’
Three UAE mathematics whiz-kids returned to the Emirates victorious this week, after beating 5,500 students from 41 nations to be ranked World Champions at the 17th International Abacus & Mental Arithmetic Competition, held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Aditya Gaurav Verma aged 13, Gayathri Girish aged 13 and Karim El Nourof aged 6, all residents of Sharjah, beat more than 100 children in their respective categories to claim their titles, by demonstrating that their speed and skill in mental arithmetic was, quite simply, world class.
Having proved their arithmetic skills in the UAE’s Eighth Annual National Abacus and Mental Arithmetic Competition held in October, 66 UAE schoolchildren travelled to Kuala Lampur to represent the nation and compete against their peers from around the world. Organised by the Universal Concept of Mental Arithmetic System (UCMAS), the annual event challenged students aged 5 to 12 to solve 200 sums within eight short minutes using either the abacus or their powers of mental arithmetic alone, depending on age and competition-category. A UAE team participated in the event’s newly introduced ‘Listening Skill Competition’, with 2 children reaching the final round of the championship, and 61 other participating UAE students secured runner up positions through their valiant efforts.
Ms. Soundari Raj, Managing Director, UCMAS UAE & Oman, said: “We are extremely proud of our three world champions and of all our students for competing in the prestigious event and making the UAE proud. All 66 children went through rigorous training and exams to first compete at a national level, and then represent the country at the global competition. The best part about our programme is that our children enjoy the challenge and training – which is why students of UCMAS UAE can consistently compete at such a high level. It is through the quality of Abacus Mental Arithmetic training followed in all the 25 centres around the UAE that we have produced World Champions.”
The UCMAS system, developed in Malaysia in 1993, is designed to help children improve their powers of calculation. The abacus, used by mankind for counting for millennia, is employed as a tool to help children improve their powers of arithmetic by allowing them to visualise calculations in pictorial, rather than numerical, form.
Ms. Raj added, “Each year we look forward to introducing more children to the UCMAS programme and continue to train and build the skills of our existing students. For us the most important achievement is the improved concentration and personality development of our students.”
