NSMQ 2026: Anlo SHS, Kumasi High Withdrawn After Dramatic Walkout in Contest Against Augusco.

By Courage Edwin Amenuda

The 2026 National Science and Maths Quiz (NSMQ) has been thrown into controversy after Anlo Senior High School (Anlo SHS) and Kumasi High School were withdrawn from the competition following a dramatic walkout during their One-eighth Stage contest against St. Augustine’s College (Augusco).

The incident occurred during Contest 9 of the One-eighth Stage, after a prolonged disagreement over the adjudication of a Biology question in Round One.

According to organisers Primetime Limited, the contest had progressed to Round Five when teachers from Anlo SHS and Kumasi High instructed their contestants to leave the stage.

The production team reportedly appealed to the contestants to remain on stage, but they followed the instructions of their teachers and walked out.

Primetime subsequently announced that both schools had been withdrawn from the contest.

The controversy began in Round One with a Biology question posed to St. Augustine’s College as its major question.

The contestants were asked to mention the protective covering of the brain.

St. Augustine’s College answered “dura mater.” The Quiz Mistress rejected the answer and subsequently offered the question to Anlo SHS as a bonus.

Anlo SHS answered “meninges” and was awarded one mark.

St. Augustine’s College then protested the decision, arguing that dura mater is one of the layers of the meninges and should therefore have been accepted.

The Quiz Mistress initially dismissed the protest, explaining that the meninges consist of three layers — dura mater, arachnoid mater and pia mater — and that “dura mater” was only one component of the complete answer expected.

However, St. Augustine’s College reportedly continued to insist that its answer deserved credit and raised the issue again after Round Three.

The dispute eventually led the production team to contact the Biology consultant, who was placed on loudspeaker to provide clarification.

According to the account of events, the consultant indicated that the expected answer was “meninges.”

However, because St. Augustine’s contestant had mentioned dura mater, which is one of the three layers of the meninges, the consultant reportedly considered the response partially correct and recommended that St. Augustine’s receive one mark out of the three available.

This became a crucial point of contention for Anlo SHS.

The Anlo camp argued that its contestants had already provided the expected answer, “meninges,” when the question was given to them as a bonus after St. Augustine’s answer had been rejected.

According to the Anlo side, the bonus had been correctly answered and the one mark had already been awarded. They therefore questioned why the mark should subsequently be removed from Anlo and awarded to St. Augustine’s.

The account further alleges that, following the consultation, the Quiz Mistress awarded St. Augustine’s two marks, describing the decision as an act of generosity and magnanimity.

The school reportedly argued that St. Augustine’s had already raised the issue during Round One and that the protest had been dismissed. Anlo therefore questioned the decision to revisit the same question several rounds later.

Anlo also reportedly raised a separate issue concerning an answer it had given in the Problem of the Day, arguing that the Quiz Mistress had acknowledged the answer as correct but declined to award the mark because the required units were missing.

The school reportedly asked that similar consideration be given to its answer if St. Augustine’s was being awarded marks on the basis of generosity.

By the end of Round Four, the scores were: St. Augustine’s College — 39 points

Anlo SHS — 34 points

Kumasi High School — 21 points

According to the account of the contest, one point had been deducted from Anlo SHS and added to St. Augustine’s College following the decision on the disputed Biology question.

Anlo SHS maintained that the decision should be reconsidered before the contest continued.

Despite the disagreement, the Quiz Mistress proceeded to Round Five.

Anlo reportedly insisted that it would not allow the contest to continue unless its petition was reconsidered. Kumasi High School subsequently joined the protest.

The situation eventually escalated to the point where teachers from both schools instructed their contestants to leave the stage.

The contest was reportedly put on hold for approximately one to two hours following the walkout.

Eventually, St. Augustine’s College was declared the winner based on the scores recorded at the end of Round Four.

The final scores at the point the contest was stopped were:

🥇 St. Augustine’s College — 39

🥈 Anlo SHS — 34

🥉 Kumasi High School — 21

Primetime Limited subsequently confirmed the withdrawal of Anlo SHS and Kumasi High School from the competition.

While the immediate reason for the disqualification was the walkout, the dispute that preceded it centred largely on the handling of the Biology question.

At the heart of the disagreement were three key issues:

1. St. Augustine’s College answered “dura mater,” while Anlo SHS answered “meninges” after the question was given to them as a bonus.

2. The Biology consultant reportedly identified “meninges” as the expected answer but considered “dura mater” partially correct because it is one of the layers of the meninges.

3. Anlo SHS objected to the subsequent adjustment of the score, arguing that the question had already been answered correctly by them as a bonus and that the matter had already been protested and decided in Round One.

The situation eventually moved beyond a disagreement over a single point and became a broader dispute over the interpretation of the question, the handling of the petition and the subsequent adjustment of scores.

For Kumasi High School, the circumstances were different. The school joined the walkout despite being behind on the scoreboard, with the account of events suggesting that the team had effectively fallen out of contention by that stage.

The dramatic incident has since generated widespread discussion among NSMQ followers, with viewers examining the broadcast and questioning the sequence of decisions that led to the eventual withdrawal of the two schools.

Ultimately, however, the walkout became the decisive moment, and St. Augustine’s College advanced after Anlo SHS and Kumasi High School were withdrawn from the contest.