The NTIC challenge: Producing Mark Zuckerbergs and Bill Gates in Nigeria, by Sabri Unal

Ongoing academic competitions have confirmed that high numbers of Nigerian youths can excel in all areas of scientific study and help put the country in the top league among nations, Mr. Sabri Unal, Deputy Managing Director (Academics), at the Nigerian Turkish International Colleges (NTIC), has declared.
Presenting education correspondents with ideas and discoveries gathered after his school’s participation in a series of scientific Olympiad competitions in Nigeria and abroad, Mr. Unal noted that, with good guidance and the right opportunity, Nigeria can produce future equivalents of Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg, Bill Gates and others.
With his school winning 45 gold, 50 silver and 71 bronze international academic medals, Mr. Unal said that its experience in organizing the International Science Olympiad (ISO) confirms the capacity of Nigeria youths to excel internationally.
NTIC is the pioneer organiser of the ISO, an international competition in science subjects like Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, Computer and Biology, with more than 20 participating countries around the world, including Nigeria, Romania, the Netherlands, Argentina, Colombia, Ivory Coast, Senegal, South Africa, Turkey, Azerbaijan, Kenya, Bosnia & Herzegovina and the USA.
“We have excelled at competitions such as the Informatrix International Computer Project Olympiad, International Art Competition, International Mathematical Olympiad, Pan African Mathematics Olympiad, International Science and Environmental Project Competitions and so on,” Unal informed.
According to him, NTIC provides opportunities for 30,000 students to compete for 30 100% scholarship slots annually while its “cabinet system” of classroom setting facilitates students’ concentration in dedicated classes for each subject.