KAMPALA: UBA Foundation, announced the 3 overall winners of the National Essay Competition at its Head Office. The Winner of the competition Terisah Hanah Amumpaire from Ndejje Senior Secondary School walked away with a University scholarship worth Ugx 3.5million, a laptop, and a trophy, the second runner-up (Richard Odeke Ekituno – Jinja College) and first runner-up (Jonathan Kimara – Bishop Cipriano Kihangire) both won a laptop and plaque each.
The top 10 finalists received certificates of participation and gift hampers from UBA.
The UBA Foundation National Essay Competition in Uganda was launched on August 17, 2022, and students across the country were required to submit essays on the topic “How did the COVID -19 pandemic affect you and what were your biggest lessons from it?”
Over 300 essays were submitted and evaluated by three top Literature lecturers from accredited Universities. The best 13 essays writers were invited to write the final essay on the Topic, ‘How can the education system in Uganda be improved?’ These essays were evaluated and the top 3 students selected.
“UBA is passionate about the youth because we know that they are the future leaders of tomorrow. This is the reason we launched the National Essay competition. To play a part in encouraging a reading and writing culture among our students and equip them with essential communication for future success. We are happy with the positive response to our maiden edition and thank all the students who submitted Essays. I want to congratulate the overall winners and the top 10 finalists,” said Chioma Mang during the event.
She added that the National Essay competition is an annual event and promised that it will be back next year bigger and better and also encouraged more students to participate, when the call for applications is made.
The UBA National Essay Competition was launched in collaboration with the Ministry of Education, who helped spread the word, especially to government secondary schools.
Speaking during the ceremony Santa Ateng, a senior Education Officer at the ministry said, “The ministry welcomed this partnership and initiative from UBA and offered the necessary support to ensure participation of the students. We are happy with the number of wonderful essays that were received. We congratulate the winners of the competition and encourage them to always participate in such competitions. As the ministry, we pledge to continue working with UBA, on joint initiatives to support the students and give them a more rounded Education.”
The National Essay Competition prizes were handed over to the students by the UBA Uganda Managing Director, the Senior Education Officer from the Ministry of Education and sports and the UBA management team.
“I am so happy that out of over 300 essays, I emerged winner. I was not going to participate by my mother encouraged me to. I want to thank UBA for this initiative. I am going to use the prize money for my university tuition. I also want to congratulate my fellow finalists and encourage them not to always believe in themselves and do their best,” said Terisah Hanah Amumpaire, in her acceptance speech.
