"The foundation for everything in this world is Mathematics," said the famous philosopher, Socrates. Nevertheless, Maths is not a favourite subject for most people.
It is a word, which brings memories of boredom and irritation to many.
However for the
hundreds of students attending the International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO) from more than a hundred countries around the world, this is not so. They devote months
practising hard and getting ready for this great event, which is a recognized
competition paving the path for mathematically gifted young students to display their skills and
talents.
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| Mr. Chanakya Wijeratne |
The first ever IMO was held in Romania in 1959. However, Sri Lanka attended this for the first time in 1995, and has
participated every year (since then) except in 1997.
Under many problems including improper
financial support and
inadequate assistance and publicity, our Sri Lankan participants have displayed their talent to a great extent, having
successfully won six bronze medals and ten honourable mentions over the last seven years.
Behind all this work is one great mathematician who has shown much
dedication towards the upliftment of mathematics in our country. He is
non-other than the CEO of The Sri Lanka Mathematic Olympiad Foundation and former Head of the Mathematics Department of University of Colombo, Mr. Chanakya Wijeratne.
Let us have a look at his views.
Q: What is your opinion about the
performance of young Sri Lankan students in
mathematics
competitions like IMO?
A: Although we have made many achievements,
many other Asian
countries are well ahead of us. I think our students have a potential within them, but there are certain flaws.
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| From left to right: Isuru Fernanado (St. Sebastians College, Moratuwa), Nuwan Pallewela (Maliyadeva College, Kurunegala), Ruvini Guruge (Musaeus College), Chanakya Wijeratne (Leader), Nipuna Samarasekera (Ananda College), Rasiru Rangika (Rajapakse College, Weeraketiya), Madura Pankaja (Rahula College, Matara) |
Over the last few years I have analysed the weaknesses of our
students at the IMO level.
Our students are
mathematically talented. But they do not have opportunities to develop their skills. Also, IMO
topics are in general not included in our
secondary school
curriculum.
However, our students have the ability to develop their mathematical
thinking a lot by solving IMO problems.
Q: What sort of
assistance do you receive for this event? Who finances all this?
A: Well, we get much help from my colleagues at the SLMO foundation and from many of my past
students. However, we do not usually have much funding. The students often have to cover their travelling costs by
themselves when going to the country where the
competition is held.
Q: May I know about your plans for the IMO this year?
A : Of course. The IMO 2010 will be held in Astana, Kazakhstan, and we have already held three
competitions throughout the country including Jaffna, Trincomalee and eight other cities to choose the best
students. Finally we selected six students to represent our country, and are giving them a tough training to be able to
succeed at the competition.
Q: I heard about
another international
mathematics competition. Could you tell us about that as well?
A: Yes, this year Korea is hosting the International Mathematics Competition (IMC) and we have been invited for the first time.
We have prepared to send a team of eight students.
This event is for school
children below 16 years, and we somehow hope to excel at this competition as well.
Thanks a lot Sir, for
sharing your ideas with us. We greatly appreciate your dedication and effort towards developing
mathematical thinking within the society and
working towards a valuable goal.
Let us all hope our
students return with
success and excellent
performance at both these events and wish them good luck.
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