Nepal in the mathematics battle royale

 As in the Olympics where ath­letes compete to prove their physical prowess, teenagers too compete to prove their mental acuity on the global Olympic stage. There are various types of Interna­tional Olympiads they take part in, for instance those related to physics, biology and literature. But none rivals the prestige of the oldest of them all: The International Mathe­matics Olympiad (IMO). Considered by many to be the hardest Olympiad, IMO has con­tinued to fascinate students from around the world since its inception in 1959.

The IMO lasts for two days and students are given three problems to solve each day. The problems relate to different aspects of mathematics like number theory, geometry, com­binatorics and algebra.

Many countries have been par­ticipating in the IMO for decades, but Nepal started doing so only in 2017 at the 58th International Math­ematics Olympiad in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, with the team of Awanish Khanal, Bibek Panthi, Bivek Pan­thi, Prabin Mahato, Ajay Pokharel and Prasanna Shrestha. They were led by team leader Deepak Bastola, deputy leader Pitambar Acharya and Prof. Dr. Bhadra Man Shrestha. Nepal also took part in the 2018 IMO held in Cluz, Romania.

Every country has an organization to oversee selection for the Olym­piad and to provide resources for prospective participants. In Nepal, Mathematics Olympiad of Nepal (MOON), a non-profit, has taken up this mantle. MOON, registered as the body overseeing IMO-related activities in Nepal by the IMO board in 2015, has since extended the selection process to all 77 districts in the country.

The winners at the district lev­el selection rounds compete at province level rounds. After the final national round among Top 50 contestants, six are picked for the Olympiad.

The questions at the province lev­el and national level rounds are comparable to those asked at the IMO, making these rounds chal­lenging even for the most intelligent minds. In addition to managing the selection process, MOON is also trying to conduct training programs and to provide resources for self-study through cooperation with other countries’ teams.

Despite the rigorous selection that skims the most intelligent youngsters of our country, Nepal’s performance at the IMO has been mediocre. Says Bibek Panthi, a two-time IMO con­testant, “Our course content is poor compared to that of other countries. While I was in Romania I saw a kid in the eighth grade doing homework on projections, a concept that we are taught only at +2 level.”

Deepak Bastola, the president of MOON, points out other reasons for poor results. “The problem is not lack of resources or finances, for they can be managed easily,” he says. “The real problem is peo­ple’s attitude to competitions such as IMO and, most importantly, towards mathematics.” Bastola says that while they were searching for prospective Olympiad candidates in schools around the country, some schools refused to cooperate. “They were concerned that good students would ruin their grades if they were sidetracked by such competitions.”

Parents are also uninterested for the same reason. “Our society is against mathematics,” Bastola adds. “Mathematics is constantly demon­ized in front of children before they even get a chance to explore it.”

The second reason for lack of interest is that “the society is not aware of the applications of math­ematics and its nature that chang­es according to the situation.” To explain his latter claim, he offers a riddle: “A mom and a son go to a movie theater. A dad and a son go to the same theater. How many people in total went to the theater?” Think about it.

Training for IMO 2019 will begin this month, and the selection pro­cess will start within a few months. According to ex-contestants, anyone interested should just go for it. “I highly recommend students at the secondary level and those under 19 years of age to take part. They will not only get an opportunity to repre­sent Nepal at the world stage. They will also in the process develop a wide range of inter-personal skills,” says Awanish Khanal, another contestant representing Nepal in 2017 Rio IMO.

Panthi agrees, as getting to meet people from different cultural back­grounds and assimilating in such a diverse community are invaluable opportunities that contribute to one’s social development. If you need an additional incentive, a big proportion of Fields medalists (the ‘Nobel in mathematics’) and Nobel laureates have won some medals at the IMO.