PAMO 2021 Regulations

 

28th Pan African Mathematics Olympiad 2021 Regulations

Date: 18 to 27 May 2021
Venue: Soussa, Tunisia

0. Preamble:
0.1. The African Mathematical Union Commission on the Pan African Mathematics Olympiads (AMUPAMOC) has published new PAMO regulations, applicable from January 1, 2001. These regulations cover matters that do not change from year to year. If a host country wishes to vary any of them, they must obtain the agreement of the AMUPAMOC beforehand.
0.2. In addition to these permanent regulations, each year the AMUPAMOC, in consultation with the Local Organizing Committee (LOC) of the current PAMO, will make procedures relating to:

  • The place and dates of the current PAMO
  • The date by which official acceptance of the invitation to participate must be received
  • The date by which participating countries must send information about team leaders and team members
  • The date by which problems proposed for the competition must be received by the Mediator with a copy to the AMUPAMOC President.
  • The official program of the Olympiad

0.3. The 28th Pan African Mathematical Olympiad PAMO (incorporating the Pan African Mathematical Olympiad for Girls PAMOG) will take place in Soussa, Tunisia from 18 to 27 May 2021.
0.4. The official languages of PAMO/PAMOG are French and English.
0.5. During the past working session of the Jury of PAMO 2003, the members discussed the ranking by country and agreed that for future editions of PAMO the ranking by country should be determined by the total number of points of all the members of the team, even if the team consists of fewer than the allowed members.

1. Participation in PAMO 2021:
1.1. Participation in PAMO/PAMOG is by invitation only.
1.2. a country which cannot participate physically in the organizing country can participate virtually in its country because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
1.3. Each invited country wishing to participate in PAMO/PAMOG 2021 must send an official acceptance, which must be received on or before May 8, 2021 to:

1.4. The registration to PAMO 2021 should be done through the official PAMO Website: https://www.africamathunion.org/AMU-pamo-official.php
and the 2021 PAMO Website: https://www.olympiadefm.com/.
A username and password will be provided by the webmaster.
1.5. each participating country must specify whether its participation is physically or virtually.
1.6. Additional regulations will be provided for virtually participating countries.

2. Teams:
2.1. Each country is entitled to send to the host country, a team consisting of a Team Leader and at most six (6) official pupils (at most 3 boys & at most 3 girls).
2.2. Each country may also send a Deputy Team leader any number of unofficial contestants, subject to the fees laid out in 3.2.3.
2.3. The team leader must be a mathematics teacher at the secondary or tertiary level.
2.4. Each contestant must be less than twenty (20) years old on the day of the second examination paper.
2.5. Contestants must not be enrolled in any post-secondary institution.
2.6. Each participating country must provide their contact details: postal address, phone number, and e-mail address.
2.7. Each participating country must provide, on or before May 10, 2021 , the list of its team members to both the LOC Chair and AMUPAMOC President.
2.8. The team leader of each participating country can be assisted by a deputy leader to supervise the welfare of the team. The deputy leader may not attend the working sessions of the Jury.

3. The responsibility of the host and the participating countries:
3.1. The responsibility of the host country:
3.1.1. The host country covers accommodation, meals and local transport costs of:

  • The team leader and the official team members of each participating country.
  • The representatives of the African Mathematical Union, in particular the President and/or the Secretary General of AMU, the President of the AMUPAMOC and the Mediator of PAMO/PAMOG 2021.
  • The Mathematics Olympiads specialists invited by the AMUPAMOC in agreement with the LOC.

3.1.2. The host country covers the travel costs of:

  • The Chairman of the Jury for PAMO (the President of AMUPAMOC)
  • The Chairman of the Problems Committee (the Mediator)
  • The invited specialists.
  • Members of the Problems committee.

3.1.3. The host country takes care of all the Olympiad necessities; it awards medals, prizes and certificates of participation and appreciation honorarium, gifts or souvenirs to officers in 3.1.2.
3.1.4. The host country provides a guide for each participant country to supervise the welfare of the team.
3.2. The responsibility of the participating countries:
3.2.1. Participating countries are responsible for all the travel costs of their team to and from the Host country.
3.2.2. Participating countries are also responsible for the fees payable, denoted as follows in Euros :

  • Observer A (observer with Team Leaders): 600 Euros for a shared room, 1000 Euros for a single room.
  • Observer B or Deputy Team Leader: 500 Euros for a shared room, 800 Euros for a single room.
  • Observer C (observer with contestants): 400 Euros for a shared room

3.2.3. Participating countries are also responsible for a fee of 600 Euros payable for each unofficial contestant.
3.2.4. Deputy Team Leader, observer and unofficial candidate fees must be transferred to LOC bank account.

4. The Mediator:
4.1. The AMUPAMOC appoints for each PAMO and for the term of one year a Mediator, who must be an African mathematician who is a prominent member of the AMU and has a good experience of PAMO.
4.1.1. The appointed Mediator for PAMO 2021 is Professor Nouzha El Yacoubi, President of the African Mathematical Union.
4.2. The Mediator must be fluent in both official languages of PAMO: English and French.
4.3. The Mediator is required to:

  • Collects a bank of Mathematics Olympiads Problems and to make it available to the Problems Committee (see 6).
  • Participates in the various working meetings.
  • Provides mediation before and during the coordination process, in case of disputes between team leaders and coordinators.

5. Mathematical Problems for PAMO 2021:
5.1. Submission of problems:
5.1.1. Every member of AMUPAMOC is required to propose at least three problems each of 1 hour 30 minutes duration with solutions for the Olympiad.
5.1.2. Each country taking part in the Olympiad is required to submit six problems of 1hour 30 minutes duration with solutions for the Olympiad.
5.1.3. Each problem submission must contain two separate files: one with only the problem statement, and another with the problem statement with solution.
5.2. The problems must cover, as far as possible, different areas of Algebra, Geometry, Combinatorics, and Number theory and should be of different levels of difficulty. The problems must be submitted in English or in French.
5.3. The problems must be sent to the PAMO 2021 Mediator, Professor Nouzha El Yacoubi, with a copy to the AMUPAMOC President before May 10, 2021. Problems submitted after the deadline will not be accepted.

IMPORTANT: Submission of PAMO Proposed Problems, is an obligation for each team leader participating in PAMO 2021, not just a choice left at his/her convenience.

6. PAMO 2021 Problems Committee:
6.1. The Problems Committee of the PAMO 2021 will include:

  • As Chairman: The Mediator of PAMO 2021
  • As members:               
  • The AMUPAMOC President
  • The PAMO 2021 LOC Chairperson
  • Two invited specialists

6.2. The Problems Committee members will meet on May 18 -19- 20-21, 2021 in order to work on the Problems proposals received before the deadline, and to recommend the short list of 20 to 24 problems, which will cover, as far as possible, the different areas of Algebra, Combinatorics, Geometry, and Number Theory.

7. The Jury:
7.1. The Jury is composed of the AMUPAMOC President, the PAMO 2021 LOC Chairperson, the PAMO 2021 Mediator, the member of the AMUPAMOC from the host country (if applicable), and the team leaders of the physically participating countries.
7.2. The invited specialists and the observers may attend the Jury but do not have the right to vote.
7.3. The Jury is chaired by the AMUPAMOC President.
7.4. Each team leader must be proficient in one of the two official languages of PAMO, English and French, and must be able to translate the selected problems into the official language of his or her team.
7.5. The Jury has the responsibility to select 12 problems from the short list recommended by the Problems Committee.

8. The Supervising Committee

8.1. The Supervising Committee is composed of the AMUPAMOC President, the PAMO LOC Chairperson, the PAMO Mediator and the AMUPAMOC secretary.

8.2. For PAMO 2021, these are:

  • AMUPAMOC President: Prof Adewale Solarin
  • PAMO 2021 LOC Chairperson: Prof Monia Bouzouita.
  • PAMO 2021 Mediator: Prof Nouzha el Yacoubi
  • AMUPAMOC secretary: Dr Karam Aloui

8.3. The Supervising Committee has the responsibility of choosing 6 problems from the 12 selected by the Jury for the current Olympiad.
8.4. The Supervising Committee has responsibility for setting the question papers and resolving any problems of coordination.

9. Marking and Coordination:
9.1. The AMUPAMOC in agreement with the PAMO 2021 LOC will appoint a team of six coordinators who will meet with the Jury when the final selection of six problems has been made and the marking schemes are drawn up.
9.2. Each problem will be awarded a mark (a whole number between 0 & 7 inclusive)
9.2.1. The solutions of the contestants will initially be assessed by their team leader.
9.2.2. The team leader will present the solutions of the contestants to a coordinator, and a final score for each question will be agreed upon in accordance with the marking scheme.
9.2.3. The scores will be recorded on an official form and signed by the team leader and the coordinator.
9.3. If the team leader and the coordinator fail to agree on a score for a contestant, the matter will be referred to the Supervising Committee whose decision shall be final.

10. Prizes:
10.1. The host country awards medals, prizes and certificates of participation.
10.2. Medals.
10.2.1. Medals for PAMO contestants: Gold Medals, Silver Medals and Bronze Medals will be awarded in approximately the ratio 1:2:3; the exact total point thresholds for each kind of medal will be decided by the Jury. The total number of medals awarded will not be more than half of the number of contestants.
10.2.2. Medals for PAMOG contestants: Gold Medals, Silver Medals and Bronze Medals will be awarded in approximately the ratio 1:2:3; the exact total point thresholds for each kind of medal will be decided by the Jury. The total number of medals awarded will not be more than half of the number of contestants.
10.2.3. The top girl contestant by total number of points will be crowned “African Mathematics Queen 2021”
10.2.4. Medals for countries:Countries will be ranked by taking the sum of the total scores of all their team members. The team leaders of the top three countries will be awarded Gold, Silver and Bronze Medals.
10.3. Special prizes may be awarded for solutions considered outstanding by the Jury.
10.4. Each contestant who has not won a medal will receive a certificate of Honourable Mention if he or she has scored full marks (7) for at least one problem.
10.5. The host country must provide certificates of participation for all the contestants who took part in the Olympiad, and special certificates for the winners of Gold, Silver or Bronze Medals, Honourable Mentions and special prizes.
10.6. All the certificates should be co-signed by the AMUPAMOC President and PAMO 2021 LOC Chairperson.

11. Gifts:
11.1. Each participating country is encouraged to bring gifts of a cultural nature to be exchanged with participants from other countries.

12. Syllabus
12.1. There is no official syllabus. The problems must cover, as far as possible, different areas of interest of pre-university education, in particular Algebra, Geometry, Number Theory, and Combinatorics.
12.2. Problems must be original. Students must be able to solve them only with basic arguments without referring to sophisticated theoretical knowledge.

13. Deadlines:

  • May 8, 2021: Deadline of notification of participation in PAMO 2021, which must be received by the AMUPAMOC President, and the PAMO 2021 LOC Chairperson.
  • May 10, 2021: Deadline of receipt of the list of the teams’ members by PAMO 2021 LOC Chairperson.
  • May 10, 2021: Deadline of receipt of the problems proposals for PAMO 2021 by the PAMO 2021 Mediator with a copy to the AMUPAMOC President.

14. Opening and Closing Ceremonies Template.

OPENING CEREMONY PROGRAMME:
National Anthem
Welcome- Address – Chairman, LOC
Introduction of teams (parade)
Pledge by contestants
Pledge by team leaders
Speeches:
Chief Executive of Host Organisation
Chair AMUPAMO
President, AMU or Representative
Government Official – To declare the Contest Opened.
Hosting of the PAMO flag.
National Anthem
End of Ceremony.  
CLOSING CEREMONY PROGRAMME
National Anthem
Welcome LOC, Chairman
Speeches
President AMU or Representative
Chief Executive of Host Organisation,
President, AMU-PAMOC : Report on PAMO Conduct
Secretary, AMU-PAMOC: Announcement of Results.

Award of Medals
Honorable mention (Representatives of Deputy Team Leaders) 
Bronze: PAMO & PAMOG (Representatives of Team Leaders)
 Silver: PAMO & PAMOG (Representatives of AMUPAMOC)
Gold: PAMO & PAMOG
(Chairman LOC, Representative of Host Organisation & Sponsors  )
Award of Country Thropies: 
3rd (Main Sponsor)
2nd  (Representatives of Government)
1st (President AMU).
President AMU declares the Contest Closed;
LOC hands over the PAMO flag to next Host Country.
National Anthem.

15. PAMO/PAMOG 2021 Agenda

 

Problem Committee, Jury

Contestants, Deputy Leaders

Tue 18 May 2021

Arrival of the Problem Committee members, AMUPAMOC President and the Mediator

 

Wed 19 May 2021

Working session of the problem committee

 

Thu 20 May 2021

Working session of the problem committee

 

Fri 21 May 2021

Working session of the problem committee
Arrival of teams

Arrival of teams
Online meeting with team leaders

Sat 22 May 2021

Opening Ceremony
 Supervising Committee meeting

Opening Ceremony

Sun 23 May 2021

Jury meeting
Excursion for the Problem Committee and Jury
Marking scheme: Paper I
Marking of Paper I

Paper I

Mon 24 May 2021

Jury meeting
Marking scheme: Paper II
Marking of paper II

Paper II

Tue 25 May 2021

Coordination of Paper I

Coordination of Paper II

Final Jury meeting

Excursion for contestants

Wed 26 May 2021

Closing and Prize giving Ceremony

Closing and Prize giving Ceremony

Thu 27 May 2021

Departure

Departure

PAMO 2021 (Virtual) Complementary Regulations

UTC stands for Coordinated Universal Time, commonly known as GMT in some countries.

  1. The Host Country for PAMO 2021 is Tunisia. PAMO 2021 is a partially virtual event because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Online activities will replace the excursions and/or cultural trips for participants who cannot be physically present.
  2. Each virtually participing Country may have a maximum of two Observers A to assist their Leader.
  3. Exams must take place in national PAMO Exam Centres, approved by the host organization. Any expenses associated with hiring facilities are the responsibility of participating countries, who are also responsible for ensuring that an Exam Centre is a suitable and safe environment, with all appropriate facilities that are expected at a normal PAMO.
  4. The Official Programme for Leaders and Observers A begins on 21 May 2021 and ends on 26 May 2021. In the early phase of the competition, there will be testing of communications and clarifications and possibly other online activities.
  5. The Official Programme for Deputy Leaders and Contestants begins on 22 May 2021 and ends on 26 May 2021.
  6. There will be an on line Opening Ceremony on 22 May 2021.
  7. The Contest problems will be sent to the leader, some time before the start of the exam, with the two official languages (English and french) by a procedure to be specified by the host organization.
  8. Exam conditions: PAMO exams should take place in a sufficiently large room or hall to facilitate social distancing (to the extent required by local authorities and the state of the pandemic). Desks should be widely spaced. It is compulsory that Leaders arrange to use webcams to provide a live feed of pictures of examinations taking place to the Chief Invigilator and PAMO Ethics Committee.
  9. The Contest days for PAMO 2021 will be 23 and 24 May 2021. Contestants will sit the Contest in the country they currently reside in, at a location designated the national PAMO Exam Centre by their Leader. In order to participate officially in PAMO2021, students must sit the exam at the Exam Centre. On each day, the paper must be sat for a single period of four and a half hours, starting at a time 08 :30 UTC and finishing 4 hours 30 minutes later. When the virtual PAMO is happening, UTC will be PAMO time. For each Country, all Contestants in a Country must sit the Contest at the same time. All persons receiving the problems, including Contestants, must keep them confidential until 13:00 UTC 24 May 2021.
  10. Contestants are allowed to ask written questions in the first half hour of the Contest. Questions do not need to be considered by the Jury. The Leader may give a written answer to a question, provided that it is a question sufficiently similar to one of those on a list of likely questions (and answers) which will be provided by the Host Organization, with the approval of the the President of AMU and the President of AMUPAMOC. If there is an unexpected question, leaders must contact the jury in the host country by video conference, before providing a written answer to a student. Records of all questions and answers must be sent with the candidate answer sheets by a procedure to be specified by the Host Organization.
  11. The coordination will be very similar to the normal coordination except that it will be done through the pamo2021.cf website and by scheduled videoconference.
  12. Medals and Certificates will be posted to Leaders, and it is hoped that, when health conditions permit, national presentation ceremonies will be arranged.
  13. There will be an on line closing ceremony on 26 May 2021.
  14. Leaders must ensure that all child protection measures which are legally enforced in their country of origin are correctly observed.
  15. Online registration implies the consent of Participants and Observers to take photos and videos during any online activities of PAMO 2021, with the right of the Host Organization to publish images and videos including images and videos of Participants and Observers, in the Internet, mass media, reports and other official documents of the Local Organizing Committee PAMO 2021. The Host Organization, with the approval of the the President of AMU and the President of AMUPAMOC, may vary protocols concerning the conduct of the virtual PAMO 2021 as and when necessary. This contest is unrehearsed, so  some flexibility may be required to make matters run as smoothly as possible.
  16. Separate detailed documents will be published explaining procedures, technical details and protocols concerning the various aspects of PAMO 2021. This will happen on or before May, 08 2021. These complementary Regulations only provide an outline.

 

Scroll to Top