Indonesian Elementary School Students Win International Math Competition

JAKARTA, July 9 (Antara)- A group 12 Indonesian elementary school students have grabbed a trophy winning the Bulgaria International Mathematics Competition (BIMC) 2018. The students succeeded in bringing home two gold, two silver and six bronze medals from the five-day competition ending on July 5. "The achievements prove that we also could compete in international forum," Director of Elementary School Development Khamim, said here on Monday. In team category, Indonesian students grabbed a gold, two silver and two bronze medals. In individual category, Felicia Grace Angelyn Ferdianto from elementary school Cahaya Nur of Kudus won a gold medal, and Yedija Nicholas Kurniawidi from the Karangturi elementary school of Semarang won a silver medal. Four bronze medals were won by Ahmad Fikri Azhari from a Muhammadiyah Plus elementary school of Batam; Mafazi Ikhwan Dhandi Hibatullah from the Al Furqon elementary school of Jember Matthew Allan from the Penabur Christian 10 elementary school of Jakarta; and Ryan Suwandi from the Tzu Chi elementary school of Jakarta. Five other students won tokens of appreciation from the competition participated in by students from 28 countries. Khamim said the BIMC delegation is made up of high performing students winning the National Science Olympiad (OSN) of 2017.. "Preparation of the delegation was made in two phases - in May and June," he said. A participant of the Olympiad Yedija (12), said he was pleased and proud for his success in winning a silver medal in individual category. The gold medals won by the team was a result of good cooperation with three other members of his group. "I like math even when I was a small boy . The excitement in mathematics is the challenge to find the answer to the question," he said. Winner of gold medal in individual category Felicia (12) also expressed happiness. Although BIMC was not the first international competition for Felicia, she said she did not expect to win the gold medal. Ibnu Hadi (37), who accompanied the team in the Olympiad, said the Indonesian students taking part in international competition were not inferior in quality compared to participants from other countries. "The challenge is for the school teachers to detect the potential talents of their students," Ibnu said. Application of 2018 curriculum and making the student get used to high level logical reasoning need to be consistently pursued.