Mrs Elizabeth Amoah-Tetteh, Deputy Minister of Education, has expressed concern about the falling standards in mathematics in schools. She pledged Government’s support to assist pupils to learn and appreciate mathematics. Mrs Amoah-Tetteh was speaking at the first Universal Concept of Mental Arithmetic System (UCMAS) National Competition organised for 400 pupils from 40 private schools in Greater Accra and Ashanti Regions. It was organised by the management of Koios International to select two candidates to represent Ghana in UCMAS International competition in Malaysia in November this year. She called on school authorities in the country to adopt the programme and the organisers to introduce it in public schools. Dr Dino Wong, Founder and Chairman of UCMAS International said the programme begun in Malaysia in 1993 and more than 20 countries in Africa and the Middle-East had adopted it. He said their vision was to reach out to pupils world-wide and assist students and working adults to improve their mental capabilities. Mr Girish Gurbani, Director of Koios International Limited, said the international competition was to ensure confidence building, cultivation of a competitive spirit among pupils and international exposure. He said under UCMAS pupils were equipped with the skill of using their mental power for accurate calculations at high speed, using an ancient calculation tool called abacus. Source: GNA