The Quiz Mistress for the National Science and Maths Quiz, Prof Elsie Effah Kaufmann, has challenged female second cycle schools to act more proactively to go far in the competition.

She told Luv FM’s Luv in the Morning with David Akuetteh her observation of a seemingly lackadaisical approach in terms of preparation and willpower of female schools towards the quiz.

According to her, this is not encouraging compared to their male counterparts.

Prof. Kaufmann, who is also the Head of Department for Biomedical Engineering at the University of Ghana, wants the management and staff of various female SHS to have a deliberate plan to nurture the interest, enthusiasm, ability, and talents of the future participants.

“For the female schools, it has to do with strategy, preparation and everything that goes into getting the teams into top form. So I don’t see as much, some of the activities that I see the young men do happening in the girls’ schools.”

“The young men start very early; for instance, some schools in the first year already select their contestants; some students also decide to go to a certain school because they want to be on the NSMQ team, and right from the first year, they are preparing them”, she added.

Prof. Kaufmann continued that “Some girls’ schools I do not want to mention names, will not do anything until the last year, they will finish WASSCE and until they decide who is coming. So that kind of lag in preparation is not helping them. But, on the other hand, it is the will to do it.”

Meanwhile, she acknowledged the resilience of all participating schools but hinted at a few changes that seek to challenge participating schools more.

“In the past, I used to talk about confidence and so on, but now I’m beginning to change my mind; it is not about confidence any longer. Instead, it is the preparation and strategies they are bringing on board.

"The students are getting better all the time, and the longer we stay with the format, the more they get used to it. But, I’m beginning to think they are getting bored with our format, so I’d like to see a change in format to challenge them a little bit.”

Prempeh College was crowned winners of the NSMQ 2021 after defeating Presbyterian Boys Senior High School, Legon and Keta Senior High Technical in a fiercely contested battle of brains, prowess and glory.

This is the fifth time the “Seniors” have won the NSMQ since its inception in 1993.