The National Maths and Science Quiz (NMSQ) has become a platform for identifying and celebrating Ghana’s brightest secondary school students.

These students demonstrate remarkable abilities in problem-solving, scientific reasoning, teamwork and intellectual competition.

However, the national concern should not just end with celebrating their victories on television.

As a country, we must tap into the brains of these talented students and channel their abilities into research, creativity and innovation that foster economic development.

This means transforming the NSMQ from merely a competition that identifies academic excellence into a foundation for a national talent development and research agenda.

If properly supported, these students can become future scientists, engineers, medical researchers, technology entrepreneurs, economists and policy innovators who contribute significantly to Ghana’s development.

The competition has shown that Ghanaian students possess exceptional intellectual abilities.

Contestants demonstrate their capacity to understand complex scientific concepts, solve mathematical problems under pressure and work collaboratively as teams.

These qualities are essential for scientific discovery and technological innovation in our global scientific world.

Ghana, as a country, must move beyond the excitement and jubilation of the competition.

The central question is not only who wins the NSMQ trophy, but what Ghana does with the intellectual abilities of the students who participate in it.

A student who can solve difficult mathematical problems may possess the ability to develop an efficient agricultural model.

A student who understands chemistry may contribute to research into improved fertilisers, water purification and locally produced medicines.

Students with strong backgrounds in physics may develop an interest in renewable energy, engineering and technological innovation.

The challenge, therefore, is to create opportunities and an enabling environment for these students to apply their knowledge to the real problems confronting Ghana.

Academic excellence must become a foundation for research, and research must become a tool for economic transformation.

It is important, however, to recognise that NSMQ performance alone does not measure every form of scientific ability.

A student may be excellent at answering quiz questions but require further training in laboratory experimentation, research methodology, data collection and scientific writing.

Research requires more than quick recall; it involves asking meaningful questions, testing ideas and producing evidence.

The 2025 analysis of the NSMQ’s assessment format raised concerns that the competition emphasises speed, auditory processing and verbal responses more than practical scientific investigation.

This criticism supports the need to complement the quiz with research and hands-on activities.

NSMQ students should be encouraged to explore research questions such as: How can schools improve health education? What factors influence access to clean drinking water? How can mathematical models help explain the spread of infectious diseases? What locally available materials can be studied for safe water filtration? and How can technology improve health information and public awareness?

Projects involving data analysis, environmental health and public education can provide valuable learning experiences.

At the university level, former NSMQ students may progress into medical research, biotechnology, pharmacy and public health.

Selected NSMQ contestants and other talented STEM students should be made to undergo training, mentorship and research projects.

Students should be allowed to present their findings at national research fairs and connect promising projects to further support.

Students would gain research experience, while universities strengthen their engagement with pre-tertiary education.

Introducing research-based NSMQ Activities

The competition should introduce a separate annual research and innovation challenge where participating schools develop projects addressing national problems.

Supporting students to become entrepreneurs

Ghana should expose students to entrepreneurship and innovation.

This is particularly important for Ghana’s youth, where economic opportunities increasingly depend on innovation, technical skills and enterprise development.

The impact of the NSMQ on students’ future education, careers and research contributions should be systematically studied.

In 2022, Professor Elsie Effah Kaufmann called for research to assess the impact of the NSMQ on the promotion of STEM education and noted that tracking former contestants could help guide future development.

In her quest, she urged that Ghana should establish a monitoring system to determine:

How many former contestants pursue STEM careers. How many engage in research and innovation. Which research areas attract their interest. What challenges they face after secondary school and How their work contributes to Ghana’s economy.

The evidence will guide policymakers in making informed decisions.

What govt ought to do

Government must provide the policy direction, funding and institutional support needed to establish a national research and innovation hub where students can conduct research into specialised areas of national and global concern. Vast areas of land can be acquired to make this a reality.

Prospective NSMQ students, ranging from the quarter-final stage — students who were able to make it to the quarter-finals — should be supported to study science, technology and engineering in countries such as China, Korea, Germany, Japan and other technologically advanced countries under full scholarships and with monthly stipends.

In doing so, they will be more willing to return after completing their studies to support the national agenda for which they were sent.

The Ministry of Education, Ghana Education Service, Ministry of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation, and research institutions should collaborate to develop a framework for student research towards this agenda.

Schools must encourage students to ask questions, conduct investigations and develop practical solutions.

Teachers should move beyond preparing students solely for quiz competitions and examinations.

Science and mathematics teachers and research supervisors should guide students to connect classroom knowledge to everyday problems.

Universities should provide expertise, mentorship, research facilities and opportunities for talented secondary school students.

They should also develop outreach programmes that introduce young learners to scientific research.

Corporate Ghana

Companies should support scholarships, laboratories, innovation challenges and internships.

Such investments can help develop the skilled workforce needed for economic growth.

Parents and alumni should encourage students to pursue science, mathematics, engineering and technology.

Alumni associations can provide mentorship and financial support in support of this initiative.

Students must recognise that success in the NSMQ is not their final destination but rather the beginning of a lifelong journey of learning, discovery and service to society.

From brilliant students to national assets

The intellectual abilities demonstrated by NSMQ students represent a valuable national resource.

These young people have shown that Ghana possesses the human potential needed to advance scientific discovery, knowledge and technological innovation.

This intellectual potential alone is not enough.

It must be supported by research opportunities, practical training, mentorship, funding and strong institutions.

Ghana should therefore transform the NSMQ into a broader talent development platform that connects academic excellence with research and innovation.

The country must encourage students to investigate problems in agriculture, health, energy, education, technology and the environment.

The objective is not merely to produce more quiz champions but to produce scientists who develop useful technologies, engineers who improve infrastructure, researchers who solve national problems, entrepreneurs who create jobs and professionals who contribute to Ghana’s progress.

The true measure of an NSMQ student’s success should not end with the number of trophies won, but should also include the knowledge created, problems solved and lives improved.

Ghana must tap into the brains of its young people today if it wants to build a prosperous and technologically advanced nation tomorrow.

By STEPHEN KOBINA NYAMEKYE

Email : kobina112233@gmail.com