The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh News : Maths quiz with a difference

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Dec 24, 2007
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Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh

Maths quiz with a difference

Ramesh Susarla

Local cable TV holds event live in association with Education Department

Eighty four students from 21 schools participate
Students spread over 70 villages watch it

Photo: T. Vijaya Kumar

Figuring it out: Students from Narsaraopet and surrounding villages participating in quiz programme organised by local TV network. —

NARSARAOPET (GUNTUR DT.): Lights, sound and action… No, it was not a movie being shot, but some 100 students of Class 10 wracking their brains to answer some quiz questions. A regional champion emerged after a five-hour grind.

Nallapati Cable Vision, known for its innovative live programming useful for students, made a mark yet again by organising a live quiz programme in mathematics in association with the Department of Education.

Students from 21 schools participated in a programme, which did not have the high-profile colourful sets or sounds that would attract lakhs of people. With the little infrastructure available with the channel, it tied up with the Education Department and roped in best mathematics teachers in the region and organised the show without any re-recording or repeat takes.

Gruelling rounds

Eighty-four students from the 21 schools (four-member team from each school), including 30 girls, locked their horns for the top honours – not for money but to prove to their teachers, parents and friends that they were the best in mathematics. There were 132 questions in total in two rounds. NCV managing director Nallapati Ramachandra Prasad and Narsaraopet MLA Kasu Krishna Prasad inaugurated the programme at 8 a.m., which continued till 1 p.m. The teams were divided into three groups – A, B and C – and each group was given a chance to answer a direct question, which fetched it 2 marks if it was correct and 0 if it was wrong. If the team was not able to answer, it was passed on to the next team, and the right answer fetched it 1 mark. This way, six teams were selected for the second and final rounds. While 80 questions were asked in the first round, 52 were asked in the second. Studnets of Sankara Bharatipuram ZP High School of Lingamguntla with 11 points were the winners. Karalite School of Narsaraopet stood second with 9 points and Saraswati Vidya Mandir on the outskirts of Narsaraopet came third with 6 points. Children in their school uniform enthusiastically answered the questions put by M.S.R.K. Prasad, the quiz master for the first round and an expert in mathematics. The second round was conducted by V. Poornachandra Rao of Aminsahibpalem ZP School, while A.A. Madhu Kumar, a mathematics teacher kept the scores.

Wide reach

A unique experiment at the local level, it was seen enthusiastically by students and parents in 70 villages in four surrounding mandals, where the network had its reach.

A phone-in answering system was also established, but due to large number of students trying to answer the questions, this facility was suspended. The local cable TV channel launched a free coaching programme for Class X students with a view to preparing them for the school final exam last year and a similar one was launched this year also last week.

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