The quiz mistress of the National Science and Maths Quiz (NSMQ), Professor Elsie Effah Kaufmann, says she has a very thick skin when it comes to the annual contest.
Kaufmann said the questions and final answers for the competition go through a very rigorous process.
Speaking with Benjamin Offei-Addo on the Asaase Breakfast Show on Tuesday (31 October), Professor Kaufmann said, “I have a very thick skin because every year, a school that loses, it’s the quiz mistress: the quiz mistress is the easiest target.
“So every single year I have issues, but I have a very thick skin around it …” she said.
Professor Kaufmann explained the way the producers of quiz select material for the competition.
“These questions don’t just show up,” she said. “The consultants will set the questions, we have moderation meetings, read every single question, we agree what the answer is going to be, and then I go over the questions myself, I convince myself of the answer, and then I come there … So at the last stage when I tell you this is the answer, it has gone through a process.”
Petition
A petition filed by Prempeh College challenging the results of the 2023 NSMQ semi-final between Prempeh, Opoku Ware and Pope John Senior High School was thrown out by managers of the competition.
Opoku Ware beat Prempeh and Pope John to go through to the grand finale with PRESEC and Achimota School.
However, Prempeh College raised issues with the semi-final which knocked them out of the competition, and staff and past students of the school took to social media to challenge the results.
Dismissing the petition, the management of Primetime, organiser of the National Science and Maths Quiz, defended the ruling by the quiz mistress and said Prempeh College was not “cheated” as claimed on social media.
In Prempeh’s petition, dated 19 October 2023, the college called for a review, acceptance and the overturning of the contest results in relation to an answer to a riddle question in the fifth round of #NSMQ2023.
Concern
However, Professor Kaufmann said, she is more concerned with the way students are taught in Ghanaian schools.
She also urged school officials to focus more on the teaching and learning of science-related courses.
“I have been calling for a more analytical assessment of the programme [the televised National Science and Maths Quiz] and its impact. I haven’t seen that happening yet …
“In fact, what I’m more concerned about is that our students must be taught the right things. All these people who are interested in just getting points and moving through the competition should be concerned more about making sure that our students are being taught the right things …” she said.
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