The figure represents the highest number of participants in the competition's history. 

A total of 126 schools will battle it out at the preliminary stage, with both government and private senior high schools participating.  

This year's edition, which was launched in Accra on Tuesday, October 1, will be held for the first time in Cape Coast in the Central Region from October 14 to October 30. 

The Deputy Director-General of the Ghana Education Service (GES), Stephen Kwaku Owusu, who launched the competition, called for more schools, students and parents to embrace and explore the disciplines in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education.

"The NSMQ has proven to be a powerful platform for promoting STEM education and inspiring young minds. The Ministry of Education and GES encourage more schools to participate and seize this opportunity to showcase and improve the talents and knowledge of their students,” he said.

Investment in STEM

He also indicated that the government had invested in initiatives to improve STEM education infrastructure and curriculum, and to encourage more students to pursue STEM careers.

“Thus, we proudly support initiatives like the NSMQ that cultivates the skills and knowledge necessary for Ghana’s development,” Mr Owusu added.

He encouraged the participating teams to embrace the values of teamwork, confidence, diligence and healthy competition as they made their schools and families proud.

Potential of NSMQ

For her part, the Managing Director of Primetime Limited, the originators and producers of the NSMQ, Nana Akua Mensa-Bonsu, mentioned that Primetime Limited still believed in the potential of the NSMQ to play a pivotal role in nurturing many more generations of students to become notable figures in STEM-related fields. 

She congratulated all the participating schools, especially the regional and zonal champions as well as six schools which were making their first appearance at the championship.

Nana Mensa-Bonsu urged the participating schools to recognise the competition not only as a platform for academic achievement and awards, but also as a platform for unity and growth.

She said the programme had been very successful over the past years and expressed the hope that this year would follow suit and potentially spring surprises. 

The MD further revealed that this year’s NSMQ participants would meet and learn from professionals in the fields of science and technology, as had been the status quo since the introduction of the Mentorship sessions under the STEM festival initiative by Primetime in 2013. 

This year’s edition will have over 15 prizes, awards and scholarships for outstanding performers and participants.