Stanbic Bank Uganda in partnership with the Ministry of Education and Sports on Monday launched the 2017 Stanbic National School Championship; an exciting competition that aims to encourage and challenge students from various secondary schools countrywide in critical thinking and provide exposure to vast knowledge beyond their classrooms.
This competition will see over 3,000 students from 40 secondary schools; government and private, participating in a series of educational activities ranging from; classroom debates, to quiz competitions, to dynamic group projects.
Mr. Patrick Mweheire; the CEO of Stanbic Bank Uganda, during the launch said, “We believe that a healthy competition and innovativeness among the students is a step forward to creating active minds which yield solutions that would steer not only improved academic performance but also definite solutions to moving the country economically forward.”
The competition is expected to equip students with skills in financial literacy, entrepreneurship, problem solving, building confidence, presentation skills, and creative thinking skills.
With 27.1 million of Uganda’s population below the age of 24, 83% are unemployed because they lack the skills.
“Our objective as a bank is to support the government in its effort to bridge the national wealth divide by providing learning opportunities that enhance skills, increase knowledge and raise financial awareness for Ugandans,” Patrick notes.
The Ministry of Education and Sports as one of the competitions sponsor are doing everything it can to ensure that students receive the best curriculum of study.
On behalf of the ministry, the Commissioner of Secondary Education, Benson Kule, said, a project such as the Stanbic National School Championship is an added advantage which tweaks the mind of students to prepare beyond what they might have studied in class.
“The Ministry expects schools through this project to breed excellence and cultivate cooperation among them, and we also hope that it will them resilience and confidence,” Benson said during the launch.
40 of the selected schools will participate in four stages;
First, the Classroom Competition; 24 teams per class with each team comprising of two students will be selected by their patron to take a short classroom quiz of 20 multiple questions where the best team per class will then represent the school in the Essay Competition.
In the essay competition which is scheduled for early March, the qualified students will sit an essay exam in which there to answer one out of the three questions from, Media, Entertainment, and Financial Services.
Thereafter, the best five teams per region (North, East, West, and Central) will represent their region at the Regional Quiz Competition which will be held at the host schools of each region and the best performing regional school will then proceed to the Grand Finale. The regional quiz for North, East, Central, and West will take place on March 11th, March 13th, March 15th, and March 18th respectively.
In the grand finale of the competition, four teams will be representing their school and the entire region. Each team will be required to run a school bank simulation project for a month, and will have to present them to a panel of judges, and only three teams out of the four will be declared winners.
How the winners are to be awarded
There two prizes; the individual prize; are for the two students that represented the school and the school prize; that will be presented to the school.
The overall winner, the two students will get an all-expense paid educational trip to South Africa where they’re expected to visit the Stanbic Bank South Africa, and the school will receive a solar system which is worth 20 Million UGX.
The 1st runners-up, each student will get an Apple iPad and a one week internship at Stanbic Bank Uganda while the school will get a water system worth 10 Million UGX.
Finally, the 2nd runners-up, each student will be given a 1 Million UGX savings account while the school gets 7 habits of highly effective teenagers and teacher training program.
Winner | Individual Prizes | School Prize |
Overall Winner | All expense education trip to South Africa | Solar System worth 20 Million UGX |
1st Runners Up | Apple iPads for each student and one week of internship training at Stanbic Bank Uganda | Water System worth 10 Million UGX |
2nd Runners Up | 1 Million UGX for savings account | 7 habits of highly effective teenagers and teacher training |
Cathy Adengo; Head of Communications and CSI at Stanbic Bank Uganda noted that the programme has been organized carefully and will be implemented seamlessly to make sure there’s a positive impact on all the participants.
Notably, Barclays Bank Uganda also helping the youth today in achieving employable skills, in May 2016 launched its ‘Ready2Work‘ programme; a pan Africa initiative that helps the youth to build the skills they need when making the critical transition from education to world of working. With a digital and face-to-face learning curriculum designed to help them develop the skills, they will able in position to prepare them for employment as well as starting their own businesses.
Early this year, the bank partnered with Airtel Uganda, to provide free internet to youth who sign up for the programme.
The programme so far as over 12,000 youth registered.
On the other hand, Vodafone Uganda earlier this month also launched an eLearning platform dubbed, ‘JUMP’; a unique online content platform with categories in Education, Entrepreneurship, Self Improvement, and Lifestyle.
Vodafone Uganda emphasized that the key focus is on providing free access to educational content through the creation of an eLibrary and creating an environment where young and upcoming entrepreneurs are supported through various initiatives.