NSMQ 2026: Primetime Disqualifies Anlo Shs, Kumasi High After Contest 9 Walk-Off
- Primetime Limited released an official statement on August 28, 2026, explaining its decision on the controversial walk-off during Contest 9 of the 2026 NSMQ One-eighth Stage
- Teachers from Anlo SHS and Kumasi High School instructed their contestants to leave the stage during an ongoing round, breaching competition rules
- St. Augustine's College, which stayed on supposedly on stage and was ready to continue, was declared the winner of Contest 9
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Two schools have been disqualified from the 2026 National Science & Maths Quiz after their contestants walked off the stage mid-contest following instructions from their own teachers.
Source: UGC
Primetime Limited, the organiser of the NSMQ, published an official statement on August 28, 2026, detailing the sequence of events that led to Anlo SHS and Kumasi High School being withdrawn from Contest 9 of the One-eighth Stage, which also featured St. Augustine's College.
NSMQ: What happened during Contest 9
The trouble began in Round One, when St. Augustine's College raised a protest over how a Biology question had been adjudicated.
A consultant reviewed the matter and recommended that St. Augustine's be awarded partial marks, a decision the Quiz Mistress announced at the end of Round Three.
Officials from Anlo SHS disputed the ruling, sparking agitation in the auditorium. To restore order, Primetime had the consultant explain his reasoning over speakerphone. The contest then resumed and proceeded through Round Four.
During Round Five, however, with the first riddle still in progress, a coordinator from Anlo SHS and a fellow teacher began shouting at their contestants and directing them to leave the stage.
Despite repeated appeals from the production team, the Anlo SHS contestants complied and walked off. A teacher from Kumasi High School then issued the same instruction, and that school's contestants followed suit.
Watch the walk-off in the Facebook post below.
Why Primetime withdrew both SHS schools
In its statement, Primetime outlined four grounds for its decision. Competition rules strictly forbid any direct communication between school officials and contestants during a contest, and both schools had clearly violated this.
The walk-off also brought an active contest to an abrupt halt, and because the same set of questions had already been used at other venues where contests had concluded, resuming Contest 9 was no longer feasible without undermining the integrity of the competition.
Primetime ruled that the conduct of the teachers and the subsequent exit of the contestants amounted to a breach of the rules governing fair and orderly competition.
Both Anlo SHS and Kumasi High School were consequently withdrawn from Contest 9.
St. Augustine's College, which remained on stage and expressed readiness to continue, was declared the winner and advanced to the next round of the 2026 NSMQ.
Primetime closed its statement by reaffirming its commitment to fairness and discipline, adding that all schools, teachers, coordinators, and contestants are expected to abide fully by the competition's rules and procedures.
The Instagram post below has the official press statement from Primetime regarding the walk-off.
Social media users reacted to the statement, with richardanakwah8 asking:
"So what's the way forward."
safff2x described the incident simply, writing:
"This is quite unsportsmanlike."
Source: Facebook
Top 10 best-performing schools in NSMQ history
Earlier, YEN.com.gh reported that the 2026 National Science & Maths Quiz (NSMQ) is set to begin on August 20, 2026, with the competition scheduled to run until September 10, 2026.
Ahead of this year's highly competitive contest, YEN.com.gh takes a look at the most successful schools in the history of the NSMQ, ranked by the number of national championship trophies they have won.
Since the competition began in 1994, only 11 schools have lifted the prestigious national trophy.
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Source: YEN.com.gh
