The 16th annual Universal Concept of Mental Arithmetic System (UCMAS) competition was held in Cyberjaya, Malaysia, on Nov. 28 in which contestants from the Kingdom bagged 57 awards to grab second position.

The Kingdom participated in eight categories and won all of them, said Mohammad Rafi, chief executive of UCMAS-Saudi Arabia.

“Saudi children from Jeddah, Tabuk, Riyadh and Alkhobar won awards apart from the Indian children who won three championships from Dammam and Jubail,” said Rafi.

Talking to Arab News from Malaysia, Rafi said the children are excited to bring such pride to the nation.

“The kids feel so proud and honored to represent the Kingdom and very glad to have achieved this position. The kids are on cloud nine,” he added.

India came first in the competition, with the Kingdom second and the United Arab Emirates third.

“I felt honored and uplifted seeing the winners holding the Saudi flag on the stage. That was a wonderful moment for all of us and memorable too. The spectators kept on calling KSA, KSA, KSA, as we kept on collecting trophies,” said Rafi.

“This has proven that the potential in Saudi children can be elevated to higher levels with proper training and guidance and opportunity through UCMAS. The program can do wonders for these children who have higher calculating abilities after going through immense training,” said Rafi.

The event was also witnessed by a Ministry of Education official.