On the 27th of March 2026, the classrooms and halls of Ado Girls Secondary School, Onitsha, became a competition ground. TechQuest STEM Academy organised an in-house student competition as part of the ongoing TechQuest Digital Access Programme, and what unfolded over the course of the day was a clear, measurable demonstration of how much the students had grown. This was not a showcase for outsiders. It was a mirror held up to the students themselves, reflecting back everything they had absorbed since the programme began.
The competition was structured across four progressive stages designed to test different dimensions of learning. The first stage was a multiple choice assessment covering computer basics, internet safety, artificial intelligence fundamentals, and Scratch programming. From there, top performers advanced to a Computational Thinking Challenge that tested algorithm design, logical sequencing, pattern recognition, and debugging.
The students who made it through then faced a timed Scratch Coding Challenge, building interactive projects that demonstrated real hands-on ability. The final stage, the Innovation Pitch, asked four finalist teams to stand up, present a technology idea addressing a real-world problem, and defend it within five minutes.
What the judges observed across all four stages was telling. Students who had started the programme with little to no exposure to coding were now writing logic, debugging programmes, and pitching technology solutions with structure and confidence. The Scratch Challenge in particular revealed how quickly the concepts had taken root.
The Innovation Pitch stage went further, showing that these students were not just learning to use technology but learning to think with it, identifying problems in their communities and imagining solutions.
At the end of the competition, the top four classes were awarded cash prizes: thirty thousand naira for first place, twenty-four thousand for second, fifteen thousand for third, and twelve thousand for fourth. The prizes mattered, but they were not the point. The point was what the competition confirmed: the TQDAP curriculum is working, and the students are rising to meet it.
TechQuest STEM Academy has always believed that Nigerian students perform at the highest levels when given the right structure, support, and opportunities to demonstrate what they know. The in-house competition at Ado Girls was proof of that belief in action. The same students who will one day represent Nigeria on global stages are already competing, already building, and already winning right here at home.