Quiz mistress of the National Science and Maths Quiz (NSMQ), Prof. Elsie Effah Kaufmann, has highlighted the significant role the competition plays in improving the country's industrial and engineering sectors.

She has said that the processes involved in examining students who partake in the quiz competition lay stronger foundations for them to pursue science and engineering education higher.

In an interview on Prime Morning on Monday, Prof. Kaufmann said the NSMQ provides the right avenue for the students to hone their science and mathematics proficiency as they aspire to innovate and change lives in society.

"What we give them now, what you see on display is the foundation. Without a strong foundation, you cannot be expected to do anything spectacular in terms of innovating and solving the problems so it’s a display of the foundation they have."

"I’m very vocal about this...many of them go to engineering schools and it’s the engineers that are supposed to innovate and change our lives and solve our problems," she told Benjamin Akakpo on the Joy Prime channel.

While commending some social groups for starting programs in design and robotics competitions, Prof. Kaufmann underscored that more conscious efforts should be made to build the capabilities of the students.

According to her, there is little students can achieve within the short period they have to solve challenging questions.

Some of the questions are beginning to reach the application level. What we have to do once we realise that they have such a strong foundation is to build on [what they have acquired]."

"If one of these young people goes to engineering school, I’m expecting their engineering schools to build them up to help them to apply what they have learned," she stated.

The 2021 National Science and Maths Quiz (2021) will be held at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST).

In the early years of the NSMQ, the Northern Sector part of the competition was held on the KNUST campus.

However, with the change to a single, nationwide competition in 1998, the National Championship, which brings together the best brains of Ghana’s second-cycle institutions, has since been produced in Accra.

This year’s National Championship, however, will return to Kumasi in a bid to bring the competition closer to its fans.

The KNUST campus will be the battleground to determine which Senior High School will clinch the coveted trophy and the bragging rights as champions of science and maths education in Ghana.

Reigning champions, Presbyterian Boys’ Secondary School and 26 other seeded schools will later join the competition at the one-eighth stage after the 81 qualifying schools from the Preliminary Stage have been determined.

Defending Champions, Presbyterian Boys’ Secondary School, Legon, will be yearning to make a third consecutive appearance at the Grand Finale on November 26 and possibly extend their dominance.