MTN Uganda has today handed over 21 scholarships to lucky students who participated and excelled in an online aptitude exam under MTN Uganda’s 21 days of Y’ello Care. There were 5 regional winners from the Central, Northern, Western and Eastern/Southern each with an overall winner Joseph Owori, a student from Namilyango College; he had the highest score.
The aptitude exams were part of an initiative to popularize and encourage usage of an e-learning platform that MTN Uganda and Gayaza High School launched on the 31st of June 2013.
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This e-learning platform is an initiative geared at impacting and empowering learners with in the country through improved electronic educational content and user enabling apps.
It gives students and teachers in Uganda free online access to educational material from the national syllabus, past exam papers and other relevant study material. Students are also able to share experiences and have access to teachers all the time to learn.
Speaking at the handover of the scholarships at Kibuli Secondary School in Kampala, Anthony Katamba, MTN Uganda GM Corporate Services said, “Education and ICT are both areas that are very close to our hearts at MTN because of their potential to transform the socio-economic status of a community. In fact education is one area that we have decided to focus our social investments as MTN Uganda. As the leading communications company in Uganda, we are very proud to champion the cause of e-learning.”
21 days of Y’ello care is an annual MTN group initiative in which staff take 21 days of their work schedule to take part financially, physically and emotionally in activities that touch and impact the lives of the people in the areas in which they do business.
The theme this year has been “investing in Education,’ but skewed towards ICT in education. The 21 scholarships were funded through staff contributions. Individual departments with MTN also undertook separate projects in various institutions of learning, all under the theme ICT in education.
Mroue explained that all over the developing world, governments are strained by all the social requirements they need to invest in, and many a times, they are not able to fully invest in everything.
“It therefore calls upon private entities like MTN to come in and supplement government efforts through such investments in social infrastructure whose impact cannot be measured, and yet they make a whole lot of difference. As the number one corporate citizen, we are committed to doing our part,” Katamba said.
Jessica Alupo the Education minister thanked MTN Uganda for their continued support to Ugandans in different areas. “There is no sector that MTN Uganda has not touched with their social investments. And these are all very noble investments. If we have more private partners picking a leaf from MTN, government would be able to concentrate on building infrastructure and policy issues,” she said.
