Lijeng Ranooe
MORE than two hundred children were recently afforded the opportunity to showcase their skills and have fun at the Second Universal Concepts of Mental Arithmetic Systems (UCMAS) Lesotho Competition in Maseru.
Rets’elisitsoe Mabeta and Thabo Mabeta came out tops in the competition that was held in partnership with Universal Educational Group South Africa.
They and other children received medals and certificates.
The participants were judged on listening skills, twin gram puzzles, flash cards and tangram.
They were also tested on their speed, accuracy and their mathematical skills as they raced against time in various different mind games and activities during the competition while 24 winners were awarded trophies.
“Each of the 34 winners received a trophy and all children who participated in the competition received a medal and a certificate for taking part,” UCMAS Lesotho Managing Director and moderator James Mabeta said.
“We are satisfied with the unwavering support we received from parents and Basotho in general.
UCMAS helped and will continue to help young Basotho students improve their math marks and improve academically in general.”
UCMAS is a brain development and mental arithmetic programme currently operating in 58 countries and it was launched in Lesotho in 2012.
The programme is designed for children from the ages of four to 13.
“We help students improve their judgement, memory, confidence, concentration, calculations speed as well as their imagination and this is very important for a child to excel academically and in life,” Mr Mabeta said.
The programme is currently being offered as an after-class activity in Maseru, Mohale’s Hoek and very soon, in Leribe.
Mr Mabeta said it would be good for UCMAS to be accessible to every child in Lesotho as that would make the fear of mathematics “a thing of the past”.
For her part, UCMAS National Franchiser for South Africa and Lesotho, Judy Janse Van Rensburg said the programme had more than 1 million subscribers from 58 countries including Lesotho.
She said the winners of the Lesotho competition stood a chance to compete in the 22nd international UCMAS Abacus and Mental Arithmetic Competition in Bali, Indonesia in December.
