By Amin Kef Sesay
On Saturday 18th December 2021, three pupils one (1) from the St. Augustine Secondary School Port Loko District Lungi, one (1) from the Sierra Leone Grammar School and one (1) from the Beacon High School won the Second Edition of UBA Foundation National Essay Competition (UBAF-NEC) for Senior Secondary Schools pupils in the country. This competition was organised in collaboration with the Ministry of Basic and Senior Secondary Education (MBSSE).
A live TV Studio Session Event was held at the African Young Voices (AYV) Television on Saturday 18th December where the following emerged as the winners of the 2021 UBA Foundation National Essay Competition:
- Rebecca Kaibanya, age 14, from The St. Augustine came 1st and won the Scholarship Grant of Le 50, 000,000 ($5000).
- Musa Ayowova Musa, age 15 from The Sierra Leone Grammar School came 2ndand won the scholarship grant of Le 30,000,000 ($3000)
- Sakinah Sarah Marah, age 16 from The Beacon High School came 3rdand won the scholarship grant of Le 20,000,000 ($2,000).
The top 12 finalists who made it to the final stage of selecting the 3 overall National Winners received one brand new HP Laptop each. Further to this, each of the 12-finalists received Certificate of Recognition while the top three winners received trophies that will be a legacy for them to cherish.
“The National Essay Competition (NEC) is a UBA Foundation Initiative that was initiated in 2011 as part of the Foundation’s drive to improve access to education for the under-privileged across Africa. This year has marked the 2ndedition of the UBA Foundation National Essay Competition in Sierra Leone and was done jointly with the Ministry of Basic and Senior Secondary Education (MBSSE),” said Usman Isiaka MD/CEO UBA Sierra Leone.
The MD/CEO continued to reveal that the UBA Foundation National Essay Competition offers an opportunity for pupils in examination classes to strengthen their critical thinking, civics, and other skill sets relevant for their growth.
NEC Second Edition was launched on the 11th October 2021 by the Minister of Basic and Senior Secondary Education Dr. David Moinina Sengeh and the MD/CEO UBA Sierra Leone Usman Isiaka at the Bintumani Conference Hall in Freetown in the presence of UBA Sierra Leone Board of Directors, Executive Management Staff, District Education Officers in the Ministry of Basic and Senior Secondary Education, pupils and teachers from various schools across the country, and members of the Press. Call for Essay Entry was made opened after the official launching till the 10th December 2021 essay submission deadline.
The Bank in consultation with the Ministry of Basic and Senior Secondary Education identified 5 panel of judges, which included communications professionals and professors of English, Literature, and mass communications from reputable universities in Sierra Leone to assess all the submitted essays.
This year, a total of 411 essays were received from 304 schools across all the 16 Districts in the country. This is a remarkable improvement over the maiden edition in year 2020 that recorded a total of 289 essays from 43 schools from 7 Districts; Freetown, Bo, Port Loko, Makeni, Kono, Bombali and Moyamba.
The judges marked essays on the topic: Environment Resilience in Sierra Leone; identity a critical stakeholder and present their interventions for climate change.
After the judges had graded all the essays submitted, the first 12 finalists were adjudged to have presented well written entry level essays which qualified them for the final stage. The 12 finalists were again given another topic in the presence of the judges to write an essay within 45 minutes on the topic “If you were the President of Sierra Leone, what would you do to improve your country?”
After the 12 finalists had written the second Essay topic, three final winners emerged, which the MD/CEO announced at the African Young Voices Television Live TV Show on Saturday 18th December 2021.
