PAIO 2025 Competition Rules
Comprehensive rules and procedures for the Pan African Informatics Olympiad online competition
Online Competition Format
The PAIO 2025 will be conducted as an online competition with mandatory proctoring to ensure fair competition and academic integrity.
Contestants will participate from their home countries under supervised proctoring
Real-time monitoring will be in place throughout the competition
Technical support will be available via designated communication channels
Competition Syllabus
The competition syllabus mirrors the International Olympiad in Informatics (IOI) Syllabus.
This syllabus defines the scope of knowledge expected from contestants and serves as the foundation for all competition tasks.
Screen Recording Requirements
All participants are required to use FFmpeg to record their screen throughout the entire competition period. We will be following the IOI 2021 Screen Recording Procedures to ensure consistency and compliance.
Recording must begin before the competition starts and continue until submission deadline
All screen activity, including IDE usage and web browsing, must be captured
Recordings may be reviewed in case of suspected violations
Virtual Machine Usage
The use of a Virtual Machine (VM) is compulsory for all contestants during the competition. PAIO will provide the virtual machine to ensure consistency across all participants.
Provides a controlled and standardized environment for all participants
Ensures security and prevents unauthorized access to external resources
More details will be published soon regarding VM configuration and setup instructions
Tasks and Submissions
Source Program Requirements
The source program must be contained in one source file as specified in the task statement
Submissions must not perform explicit input and output operations
Data must only be exchanged through the interfaces specified in the task statement
Direct access to any file, including standard input or output, is forbidden (though writing to standard error is allowed)
Threading and Performance
Multiple threads are allowed in all programming languages
Running time is counted as the sum of running times of all threads
Subtasks and Limits
Each task will be divided into several subtasks, each worth a portion of the total points
Time and memory limits will be generous (typically double those required by the expected solution)
Memory limit includes executable code size, stack, heap, etc.
Task Materials
For each programming task, contestants can download a zip file containing:
Interface files
A sample grading program
A skeleton implementation of the required source file
Note: The sample grader provided on the workstation would not be the same as the official grader used by the grading system.
Practice Session
There will be a 2-hour Practice Competition prior to the first competition day to familiarize all contestants with the grading system.
Practice tasks will be published before the IOI
Contestants may bring printed solutions on paper only during the Practice Competition
This session helps contestants become familiar with the submission system and interface
Quarantine
To protect the confidentiality of the tasks, all direct and indirect contacts and communication between contestants and team leaders are prohibited during specific periods.
Quarantine begins when tasks are presented to GA members and ends at competition start
Contestants cannot communicate with GA members or anyone who knows the tasks
GA members cannot communicate task-related information to unauthorized persons
Violation may result in disqualification of contestants or entire delegations
Competition Equipment and Environment
To be determined: Detailed equipment specifications and environment setup will be provided closer to the competition date.
Task Statements
Each contestant will have online access to the official English version of tasks and all task translations in electronic format (PDF).
Primary language is English
Translations available in various African languages where possible
All statements provided in PDF format through the competition platform
Allowed Supplies
In the competition room, blank paper, writing tools, snacks and water should be provided by the proctor. Contestants may bring the following items:
Personal Items
Clothing
Reasonable jewelry
Small mascots
Medicine and medical equipment
Equipment & Tools
Writing utensils
Keyboards (without wireless/calculation/programmable functions)
Mouse (without wireless/calculation functions) and mouse pads
English dictionaries
Snacks, earplugs and earmuffs
Important: All items must not transmit or store any data in electronic or printed format (other than their designed purpose).
Assistance and Clarification
Clarification Requests
During the competition, contestants may ask questions concerning competition tasks, rules and/or grading through the grading system.
Submit clarification requests in English or your preferred language
If unable to type required characters, write on paper and inform the proctor
Continue working while waiting for answers
Question Guidelines
Phrase questions so that a yes/no answer will have clear meaning
Avoid negative questions like "Isn't it true that...?"
Use positive questions of the form "Is it true that...?"
Possible Responses
"YES" / "NO"
Direct answers
"ANSWERED IN TASK DESCRIPTION"
Information is already provided
"INVALID QUESTION"
Rephrase needed
"NO COMMENT"
Information cannot be given
Assistance Requests
Questions not concerning competition tasks, rules and/or grading are considered Assistance Requests and must be made via the proctor.
Do not leave your seat until allowed to do so
Never attempt to fix computer or network problems yourself
Always ask for assistance through your proctor
Cheating
Contestants must use only the workstation and account assigned to them on each competition day. All of the following actions are considered cheating and may result in disqualification:
Prohibited Actions
Submitting illegal programs or attempting to tamper with or compromise the grading system
Attempting to gain access to root or any account other than the one assigned to you
Attempting to store information in any part of the file system other than the home directory or /tmp directory
Touching any workstation other than the one assigned to you
Attempting to access any machine on the network or Internet, other than to access the contest system for usual purposes (e.g., submitting tasks, viewing results, downloading sample data, submitting clarification requests), calling for support staff, and printing documents
Even running a single "ping" command is strictly prohibited and may lead to disqualification
Attempting to reboot or alter the boot sequence of any workstation
Communicating with other people during the competition, other than support staff and/or Scientific/Technical Committee members
Reverse engineering test data to solve problems in highly test-data-dependent manners. This includes using the feedback system to extract test data and building solutions adapted to specific test cases that would solve significantly fewer test cases correctly if the test data were replaced by an equivalent set
Violation of any of these rules is considered cheating and may result in immediate disqualification from the competition.