The 2020 edition of the National Science & Maths Quiz (NSMQ) and Science Festival; the longest-running independent production on Ghanaian television, was officially launched on Tuesday, September 1, 2020 at the GNAT Hall in Accra. The launch, which was streamed live on Facebook and YouTube, also provided a platform to conduct a special balloting exercise for the 108 schools that would participate in the Preliminary Stage, based on regions/zones for the first time in the Quiz’s history.
The competition, which normally runs between June and July each year with 135 schools, was postponed due to the global COVID-19 pandemic. Upon consultation with major stakeholders, Primetime, producers of the NSMQ, had to re-strategise and reorganise the Quiz, and to ensure a safe and incident-free environment for all participants, Primetime has engaged the services of the Noguchi Memorial Institute, University of Ghana Medical Centre and the Ghana Health Service to facilitate the testing of all participants.
To ensure that competitions are held in a safe manner in accordance with COVID-19 safety protocols, the Preliminary Stage, which is ordinarily held in Accra, will now be held in the regions and zones before schools converge in Accra for the One-eighth Stage; the next level of the Quiz. Furthermore, there will be no live audience at this year’s competition.
During the official launch, the Managing Director of Primetime, Mrs. Nana Akua Ankomah-Asare, announced that to make up for the lack of live audience at the production venues, all the 80 contests would be streamed live on NSMQ social media platforms with selected contests being broadcast by NSMQ media partner, Joy News.
“All contests would be streamed live across all our social media platforms. Yes, we are bringing the full complement of this year’s Quiz directly into your homes, from the Prelims, right up to the Grand Finale.”
– Mrs. Ankomah Asare.
With the introduction of prizes such as the Goil Riddle Bonanza sponsored by Goil to reward contestants in the final round of the Quiz, and the AirtelTigo Highest Scorer of the Day, which seeks to reward highest scorers of each competition day, this year’s edition of the NSMQ promises to be exciting.
Moreover, the Money Zone, sponsored by Absa Bank Ghana Limited, will also be available this year, with an increase in prize value. The final scores of the schools would be multiplied by GH¢10.00, GH¢15.00 and GH¢25.00 as prize money from the Quarterfinal, Semifinal and Final stages respectively and paid to each of the four team members. In addition, the NSMQ Star, sponsored by Prudential Life Insurance, will also continue this year, to reward schools that make a perfect score of 10 in the Problem of the Day, from the Preliminary to the Final stages of the competition.
A total of 135 schools will be competing for the bragging rights of National Champions, and here is a breakdown of how this year’s competition will pan out:
The 108 Regional Qualifiers will compete in 40 contests at the Preliminary Stage of the competition, and the winners, together with 14 top runners-up from these contests, will progress to the One-eighth Stage of the competition where they will compete with the 27 seeded schools – quarter finalists from NSMQ 2019.
The stage has been set and the first Preliminary Stage contests will begin in the Greater Accra Region on Tuesday, September 8, 2020.
Which schools will your alma mater be competing with? The battle for the bragging rights as NSMQ Champions has begun! Check out the full list for the 2020 Preliminary Stage fixtures.
Download the NSMQ 2020 Launch Brochure
The National Science & Maths and Quiz and Science Festival is sponsored by the Ghana Education Service in partnership with Absa Bank Ghana Limited and supported by Joy News, Prudential Life Insurance, Goil, AirtelTigo, Dano Milk, Academic City, Accra College of Medicine, Central University, GTP, Adansi Travels, Medifem Multi-specialist Hospital and Fertility Centre, Third Eyecare & Vision Centre and YFM. The NSMQ is proudly produced by Primetime.
