LAHORE, June 13: A countrywide online mathematics competition “mathlete.pk” is being organised by Future Biz Technologies (FBT) from Wednesday (tomorrow).

FBT Chief Executive Muhammad Nadeem Chaudhry said this at a news conference at a local hotel on Monday. Association for Academic Quality (AFAQ) Chief Executive Abrar Ahmed and model-actress Jugan Kazim were also present.

Students can participate in the competition through online registration by June 15. Each candidate will have to submit entrance fee Rs100 through a scratch card.

Mr Chaudhry said mathlete competition was being organised to use mathematics in everyday life and to bring the standard of mathematics understanding in Pakistan on a par with global standards.

He said candidates could participate in the competition in five age-group categories – juniors (7-11 years), young teens (12-14 years), mid teens (15-16 years), young adult (17-24 years) and open (24 years and above).

Mr Chaudhry said the mathlete.pk had been developed with the guidance of prolific mathematicians and top academics in Pakistan to assess contestants' computational and conceptual skills in mathematics through multiple choice questions.

“The contest will help people strengthen their mathematical instuition, improve critical thinking capabilities, foster mathematical creativity and ingenuity as well as promote competition and sense of achievement,” he hoped.

Each quiz will have 25 questions having four possible answers. Contestants will have 90 seconds for each question.

He said scoring would be time-based – the more quickly a contestant selects correct option, the more points he or she will get. One scratch code will allow a contestant up to 15 attempts.

Mr Chaudhry said that after initial online competition, first 100 contestants would be selected a second round of on-ground screening in Lahore, Karachi and Islamabad.

Of these contestants, only five top contestants would be selected in each age-group category for a grand finale to be held at Lahore Expo Centre on July 30.He said the winners of the contest will earn scholarship prizes as well as bonus prizes. The top three winners in each category will get Rs100,000, Rs50,000 and Rs25,000 prizes.