Math whizz brings home a bronze medal from India

A team from the OASYS School in Karachi participated in the event in India.

KARACHI: After grappling with numbers and puzzles in an hour-long international competition, a Pakistani student emerged victorious and bagged a bronze medal for his performance.

Muzammil Rasheed, an A’ levels student at the OASYS School in Clifton, participated in the fifth International Young Mathematicians’ Convention held in Lucknow, India, during the first week of December and managed to walk away with a prize even though young Filipino math wizards dominated the scene.

“Had there been other Pakistani schools participating, the country would have won a sizeable haul of medals,” Rasheed told The Express Tribune. “Students and schools’ administration, in general, are not aware of such events where we can prove our mettle.”

Though his team members Karan Talreja, Sameer Ali, Tooba Ayesha and Alina Channa didn’t win any awards, they were happy that this was the third time the school took part in the international event and brought back a prize. “Let’s keep the flag of Pakistan flying high,” said Talreja.



Lucknow’s City Montessori School has been organising the event every two years since 2004. The five-member from OASYS, the only one from Pakistan, competed in the internationally recognised contest, with around 600 competitors from the United Kingdom, Russia, South Africa, Philippines, India, Thailand, Taiwan, Indonesia, Qatar, Nepal, Malaysia, Kazakhstan, Iran, Bhutan, Nigeria and Sri Lanka.

It was an honour for the team when the school’s principal, Dr Jagdish Gandhi, himself arrived at Lucknow’s railway station to receive them. But it was disheartening for them that the majority of participating teams were not only sponsored by their respective governments or private organisations but also facilitated to prepare for the contest. The Pakistani students had to bear the expenses from their own pocket.

OASYS School coordinator Majid Rasool, who accompanied the team, told The Express Tribune that students already good at Maths were selected to participate and the teachers gave them extra attention for two months. “It is a matter of pride not only for the school but for the country. [The students] won a bronze medal in a mathematics competition.”

He explained that the organisers invited a number of reputed schools to participate but except for a team from the Avicenna School - which ultimately could not participate because of visa problems - nobody else attempted to go.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 19^th, 2012.