President Paul Kagame on Thursday, August 22, told secondary school students who won Rwanda’s first-ever gold medal in the Pan African Mathematics Olympiad (PAMO) to "do even more.”

The President said Rwanda’s performance at the continental competition "demonstrated that we have within us the capacity,” to find solutions to current problems.

"Through education, especially through this field of maths and sciences, you can find solutions to our many problems and you can be innovative,” said Kagame, who hosted the students at Village Urugwiro.

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"You can not only help address the challenges of our country, but continental and global solutions and innovations can be obtained through you,” he said.

"Medals are good, they show you the level, but you don’t stop there.” Kagame told the students.

"If you have access to education, if you invest your time and other resources to study, you will reach at that level that you will be awarded in many other ways.”

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In the competition, held in Johannesburg, South Africa from August 10-20, Rwanda was represented by a team of six students. The gold medal was awarded to Denys Prince Tuyisenge, a Senior Three student at Hope Haven Secondary School.

The Rwandan team also won a silver medal, three bronze medals, and several PAMO Girls Bronze Medals.

President Kagame urged the students who did not win a medal from the competition not to give up.

"That is already a good thing,” he said. "You are already at a level that can win medals, that can find solutions and be innovative.”

Kagame encouraged the students to inspire others and show them what is possible.

"A medal is a recognition of something you have achieved in a certain competition and it’s a very good thing. But you don’t stop there,” he said.

"There are many good things around that, and this is how those who compete become important in demonstrating to the rest that they should participate, focus, be disciplined in their study. There is a lot in us.”

This year was Rwanda’s fourth participation in the continental competition organized by the African Mathematics Union.

The country hosted the 2023 PAMO edition, in which Rwandan students won five silver and four bronze medals.

The President thanked the African Institute for Mathematical Sciences (AIMS) Rwanda, which trained the students for the continental competition.

Kagame assured governmental support to bolster the institute’s efforts in developing future generations of mathematical and scientific talents.

Participants in previous PAMO editions have gone to prestigious higher learning institutions, such as Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Cambridge University, Carnegie Mellon University.

"All these are things you should be proud of, and we are proud of for that as well,” Kagame told the students.

Kagame invited young people from all parts of the country to draw inspiration from the performance of their peers and contribute to development.