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UBA Foundation Launches National Essay Competition in Ghana

United Bank for Africa Plc, through its corporate Social Responsibility arm; UBA Foundation, has launched a national essay competition for secondary schools in Ghana.

L-R: Deputy Director of Secondary Education, Republic of Ghana Mrs. Dorothy Glover; Director of Secondary Education, Republic of Ghana, Rev. Simon Asige; MD/CEO, UBA Foundation, Ijeoma Aso; Deputy Minister of Education, Republic of Ghana, Hon. Okudjeto Ablakwa; MD/CEO, UBA Ghana, Mrs. Abiola Bawuah; and DMD, UBA Ghana, Mr. Usman Isiaka during the maiden launch of the ‘UBA Foundation National Essay Competition in Ghana’

The national essay competition, which has been holding in Nigeria in the last three years, is aimed improving the reading, research, critical thinking and writing skills of Ghanaian secondary school students. It is in line with the commitment of the UBA Group, which has operations in 19 African countries, to develop Africa’s educational sector.

The essay competition, to be known as the ‘UBA National Essay Competition in Ghana’, has commenced with calls for entries from eligible students. Entries began on Wednesday September 24, 2014 and will close on October 31, 2014.

Student participating in essay competition are expected to send in handwritten entries on the topic ‘Is Social Media a safe place to make friends?’ to the UBA office in Ghana. A panel of judges will pick the best 12 entries in the competition that will be subjected further written tests to determine the best three.

The announcement of the commencement of the competition, which took place on Wednesday September 24, 2014, in Accra Ghana, witnessed the presence of students, top government officials and individuals from the private sector during a press conference at the UBA Ghana office.

Among the dignitaries was, Ghana’s Deputy Minister of Education, Hon. Okudjeto Ablakwa, who officially unveiled the maiden edition of the competition in Ghana.

The minister, who was full of appreciation to UBA for launching the competition, described the initiative as noble. He said the essay competition is coming at a time when a lot of attention is being given to educational development in Ghana.

“This is a great effort; the Ghana Education Service and WAEC will ensure a robust examination team is assembled for this exercise. Our doors are always open to UBA” the minister said.

Mrs. Abiola Bawuah, MD/CEO, UBA Ghana, reiterated the importance of education; quoting the words of Nelson Mandela she said “Education is the most powerful weapon, which you can use to change the world.”

She assured that UBA will continue to support the Ghana Education Board in promoting a healthy educational development.

Also speaking during the launch, Ms Ijeoma Aso, the MD/CEO of UBA Foundation, said the essay competition will provide students in senior secondary schools in Ghana the opportunity to win prizes in the form of educational grants to attend any African University of their choice. She assured that the exercise will be supervised by examiners confirmed by the Ghana Education Board.

“UBA is out to promote child welfare through education’ Ijeoma said.

Ms. Aso explained that the competition which is coming on the heels of the Foundation’s ‘Read Africa’ initiative was conceived to promote creative thinking and the development of intellect among Ghanaian students.

The Director of Secondary Education, Ghana, Rev. Simon Asige; who was also at the event, assured UBA of his ministry’s support, while committing to distribute the essay flyers and posters personally.

As the CSR platform for the UBA Group, UBA Foundation through her four areas of focus has and continues to impact positively on the lives of Africans, particularly in the various countries where the group has presence through a number of laudable projects and initiatives.