Mirror Magazine

Mirror Magazine

Math geniuses
By Mahangu Weerasinghe
At first glance, Mevan and Madushanka look like two average nineteen-year-olds. Both have just finished their A/Ls and are looking at entering university in the next few months. Like most Sri Lankan youth both also have a healthy interest in cricket. In fact, sitting across from them, it’s hard for me to imagine that I’m talking to two of the most outstanding young mathematicians in the country.

Mevan Alles, an old boy of Royal College, Colombo, and Madushanka Dinesh Zoysa, a past pupil of Richmond College, Galle, live and breathe mathematics. After performing exceptionally well at the G.C.E (A/L) Examination 2004, both went on to win medals at the Sri Lankan Mathematical Olympiad 2004 held in May this year. Being in the top six in the local competition, both qualified to represent the country at the 45th International Mathematical Olympiad, held in Greece this year.

“The local Olympiad was held the day after our last A/L paper,” said Mevan, Gold Medal winner at the competition. “I heard about the competition from my father, and just thought I would give it a shot.” This ‘shot’ turned out to be one well taken, with Mevan qualifying for the final round with relative ease. “The first round was really quite easy, and the second round, with essay type questions was not that hard either,” said Mevan. His Gold Medal qualified Mevan to represent Sri Lanka in the International Olympiad in July.

Madushanka, an old boy of Richmond College, Galle heard about the local Olympiad from a senior maths student in school. “I didn’t know what type of questions would be asked, but I just thought I’d give it a try,” said Madushanka. “The questions were different from our A/L syllabus ones but they were not that difficult as well,” said the student. Madushanka came 2nd in the finals and thus also qualified for the International Olympiad.

“The Olympiad was an awesome experience – meeting so many maths students from all over the world was really encouraging,” said Madushanka. Medals at the Olympiad however proved more difficult to get for the Sri Lankan team. “Although we have been taking part in the International Olympiad for many years, the most we have managed in the past are bronze medals,” said Mevan.

Madushanka however, much to his credit, managed to bag an honourable mention for scoring a perfect score on one out of the six questions. “There are six questions, with each being marked out of a total of seven – I scored seven out of seven for the first one and was thus awarded an honourable mention,” explained Madushanka. “Supun Samarakoon from Maliyadeva College, Kurunegala also won an honourable mention,” said Madushanka, whose total score was eleven.

“The cut off mark for the Bronze Medal was just 16, and with a little more practice, Madushanka could have easily got this score,” said Chanakya Wijeratne, team advisor and senior lecturer in Mathematics at the University of Colombo. “The standards at this competition are insanely high, and winning a medal at this level really earns the country a lot of recognition in the international arena,” explained the senior lecturer.

A few months after their return, both students received their A/L results, which as expected, turned out to be extraordinary. Mevan scored well in all three subjects (Maths, Physics and Chemistry) and was ranked sixth in Colombo and 15th in the island. He bagged an impressive Z Score of 2.92. Madushanka on the other hand amassed a staggering 3.3181 to be placed 1st in the island in the Maths stream. Both are entering University next year and hope to major in Electronic Engineering.

Both students agree that they could have done better at the International Olympiad. “We need more competitions inside the country to find local talent,” they said in unison. “We spoke to several foreign students, and most of them had been practicing since around Grade 9,” said Madushanka. The Sri Lankan team on the other hand were only chosen a couple of months before the competition.

“If the Sri Lankan team gets more practice, we are sure that we will be able to do a lot better in the next few years,” said Mevan. There will be no more competitions for these two young mathematicians though. As they plan on entering university next year, they will no longer be eligible to take part in the international competition. “The Olympiad is only for high school students,” explained the duo. “A new Sri Lankan team will be picked for next year’s competition.”

The Sunday Times also spoke to Team Advisor Chanakya Wijeratne about the standard of Olympiad Mathematics in Sri Lanka. “After a lapse of a few years, a National Olympiad was held in the country,” explained Mr. Wijeratne. “This event was organised by the newly inaugurated Sri Lanka Olympiad Mathematics Foundation,” said the senior lecturer. “Although the previous government promised us funding, it has not yet materialised and we were forced to organise the 2004 competition from our collected funds,” related Mr. Wijeratne. “Although Greece paid for the board and lodging at the International Olympiad, our students had to find means of paying their own airfare and other expenses,” said the team advisor.

With many other national teams being sponsored so heavily by the corporate sector, it is sad to see the brains of the country going unnoticed and unappreciated. In an age where many countries are trying hard to improve their national think tanks, why is it that Sri Lanka ignores its scholars? Students like Mevan and Madushanka are ready to work hard to bring honour to their country. The question is - is Sri Lanka willing to give them the support they need?

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