Five out of fourteen (14) schools that made it to the finals in the 9th edition of the Stanbic National Schools’ Championship emerged winners in their respective categories. St Joseph High School Namagunga emerged as the overall winner with their Sani-Troll business proposal. The students each received a laptop while their teacher/patron received UGX1.5 million and the school received a solar system worth UGX20 million.
According to Elton Kigozi and Gordon Walugembe, both S4 students, “The machine (Sani Troll) can mow, scrub, and mop at the same time. “It’s like a trolley in the supermarket and the ‘Sani’ comes from the word sanitation, because it is a cleaning machine.”
Skool Bike Uganda emerged as the winner in the Alum Grow Category, a running project offering affordable, reliable bicycle transport for students, reducing absenteeism, and supporting consistent education.
Sheema Girls School took the prize for the Teach Innovate Category with their Gamified Learning project. This project tackles low student morale and engagement by integrating game elements into the learning process, making education more engaging.
In the Student Grow category, the winner was Katwe Noor S.S-Library Simplified. Their Library Information Simplified platform enhances access to library resources, improving students’ research capabilities and learning experiences.
Stanbic Bank Executive Director, Sam Mwogeza in his remarks said “In a program like this there are only winners and I want to commend and thank each one of you who has reached this point. And not just for you, but for all those who participated but who are not here today.” He added, “I was moving around and speaking to some of the students —the passion with which they share their ideas and the clarity of vision on the desired impact is exceptional.”
George Mutekanga, the Commissioner of Private Schools and Institutions at the Ministry of Education who was the guest of honor praised Stanbic Bank and remarked, “We want in a special way to thank Stanbic Bank for moving on this journey. As the Ministry of Education and Sports, we want to thank you very much for this 9th edition in a row, and this year, I am most touched to note the number of issues raised by participating schools.”
Mutekanga also noted that the Ministry’s concern has been and always will be to come up with a strategy to bring on board all the 2o sub-regions of this country, thus, applauding the Stanbic National Schools’ Championship because it has managed to do so.
Diana Ondoga, the CSI Manager at Stanbic Bank said, “More than a dozen projects drawn from all regions of Uganda faced off, in a grueling final that followed several months of a competitive process which attracted the participation of over 60,000 students representing over 100 schools in over 100 districts of Uganda.”
The Stanbic National Schools’ Championship is the flagship activity under the Stanbic Bank’s Corporate Social Investments (CSI) aimed at driving youth empowerment and improved access to quality education. It equips teachers and students with the necessary skills and confidence to become the job creators of tomorrow, fostering a brighter future for themselves and their communities.
For this year’s edition, the number of schools applying for participation, shot up to 265 more than double the figure in comparison to eight years when the competition was first launched.
