16 out of 32 Schools Vie for the Coveted Tokyo Cement Super Quiz Crown
Which school will walk away with theRs.1Mn Grand Prize?
Block your weekend calendar to witness promising students from 16 schools across the island compete for the esteemed Tokyo Cement Super Quiz – Season 3 crown, on Sundays at 5.30 pm on Swarnavahini. Share the excitement of our Nation’s next generation as they show off their brilliance in general knowledge in a bid to walk away with 1 Million Rupee grand prize.
A thirst for general knowledge and an unfettered curiosity to explore the world is what set these 16 Finalist schools apart as they try to keep their flags flying highas the competition intensifies. The televised quiz round saw 192 teens representing all school going children from 32 schools battle it out at Sri Lanka’s biggest schools quiz competition organized by Tokyo Cement under the patronage of the Ministry of Education.
The 16 schools qualified to Round 2 are; Kiribathgoda Viharamahadevi BV (Gampaha); Visakha Vidyalaya (Colombo); Malabe Sri Rahula BV (Colombo); Thurstan College (Colombo); Sri Shanmuga Hindu Ladies College (Trincomalee); Methodist Central College (Batticaloa); Pushpadana BV, Dharmaraja College and Mahamaya Girls’ College (Kandy); C.W.W. Kannangara MMV (Kalutara); Richmond College (Galle), Mahinda College (Galle); Vijitha MMV (Polonnaruwa); Hatton/Sri Paada MMV (Nuwara Eliya); Balangoda Central College (Ratnapura), Puhulwella MMV (Matara).
“We’re very excited just to be at the finals with all the big schools from all over the country. We need to really brush up on our knowledge to face the next level as it will be tougher. We will do our very best to make it all the way to the finals”, enthused Mr. Suren Dhananjaya, Captain of Hatton/Sri Paada Central College team, representing Nuwara Eliya District for the 2nd consecutive year. Over the upcoming weeks his team will face off against 15 other frontrunners from other districts.
Respected educationist and veteran journalist Kala Keerthi Dr. Edwin Ariyadasa, who heads the Panel of Judges of the competition, stated, “Gone are the days when one had to wait for days to read a newspaper or wait for weeks to receive an international magazine by post. Children today are very fortunate as they have information rushing at them from every angle at lightning speed. However, it is sad to see that not many of them possess the thirst to learn new things and are worried only about attaining higher grades. So, I am very proud to see these sons and daughters taking part in the Super Quiz program, for they have a rare gift which has led them to be open to the world and learn about a range of subjects. Each one of them is indeed a champion by any standard and I encourage them to keep this fire to acquire new knowledge burning and make it a lifelong passion.”
Tokyo Cement Super Quiz – Season 3, kicked off in October last year, saw 458 schools from every district in Sri Lanka gaining an equal opportunity to claim 5.2 million rupees worth prize money channelled for school development and expanding students’ horizons. While some of the schools taking part in the finale have had a taste of victory in previous seasons, there are new entrants who have triumphed over apparent fan favourites attempting at the 1 million grand prize going out to the winning school.
Mr. Y. A. N. D. Yapa, Director of Education for Core Curricular Activities, Guidance and Counselling and Peace Education at the Ministry of Education, who champions the cause to improve general knowledge among school students said, “We always look at these programs from the students’ perspective to ensure that they gain much bigger value and enriching experiences by actively seeking knowledge beyond their usual domains. This is a good platform to show-off and test their knowledge among peers. We must encourage more students to get involved in the quest for general knowledge, not just the teams participating. It opens up new information horizons, thus enhancing the sum total impact on every student making all of them winners.”
The world today has parents and teachers faced with the dilemma of how to guide their children to navigate through the boundless information super highway, and use the Internet as a tool to open up new vistas of education and entertainment, whilst steering clear of malicious content that can lead not just their academic lives but individual wellbeing in to peril. The Tokyo Cement Quiz provides a good opportunity for educators to whet the appetite of young minds by showing them the more productive and responsible use of the Internet and the importance of using every opportunity that comes their way to access and harness new knowledge in order to enrich their lives.
Mr. Billy Walpola, Director Marketing at Tokyo Cement, while expressing his appreciation to all the participants who contribute to make the competition a grand success a 3rd time running, said, “We launched this competition with a far-reaching ambition to inculcate a thirst for knowledge among our youngsters. We want to see as many children acquiring the habit of collecting general knowledge as the means to achieve success in education and use it as a stepping stone to expand his or her world view. In a world where information is power, we must prepare our student populace to understand the importance of knowing what’s happening in the world around us.”
The first of its kind national level school competition in its 3rd successful year is the brain child of Tokyo Cement and Swarnavahini and is conducted under the guidance of the Ministry of Education. Over 2700 student lives have been directly touched through the Tokyo Cement Super Quiz Season 3 so far, with thousands of others gaining the benefit of learning in a competitive yet enjoyable environment.
1 Million Rupees is up for grabs for the Winner of the grand finale which will see some of the top brains among our children vying for a lifetime opportunity to make their alma maters proud. So make a date with these young enthusiasts as they face off against the top brains of their generation at the Tokyo Cement Super Quiz – Season 3 airing on Sundays at 5.30pm on Swarnavahini.
