UBA Foundation commences 2024 essay competition

UBA Foundation, the corporate social responsibility arm of the United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc, has announced the commencement of the 2024 edition of its annual National Essay Competition (NEC) with a call for entries.

Now in its 14th year, NEC is part of the UBA Foundation’s education initiative aimed at championing literacy and encouraging intellectual development among senior secondary school students across Nigeria and the African continent.

The 2024 edition will see increased participation from senior secondary school students across Nigeria as they can conveniently submit their entries from the comfort of their homes or schools via the UBA Foundation NEC digital submission portal at www.ubagroup.com/uba-foundation/national-essay-competition, the notice said.

The essay topic for the call for entries is ‘Discuss the Impact of Carbon Emission on Climate in Nigeria: Challenges and Solutions.

Students are expected to properly research, write, scan and upload their handwritten essays to the digital portal on or before November 8, 2024.

The essays will be graded by renowned English professors who will then select the best 75 entries, which will be rewarded with N75,000 cash. A second competition will be held across four regions in Nigeria – Abuja, Enugu, Lagos and Port Harcourt where the 75 candidates will compete to be one of the 20 finalists, UBA said.

The 20 finalists will thereafter write a third essay where the top three will be selected, it noted.

The foundation has also announced a substantial increase in educational grants as the first-place winner will receive N7.5 million to study at any African university of their choice, while the second and third-place winners will receive N5 million and N3.5 million, respectively.

The Chief Executive Officer, UBA Foundation, Bola Atta, who spoke ahead of the flag-off of this year’s completion, noted that despite the current global economic challenges, UBA Foundation remains steadfast in its commitment to educational excellence by significantly increasing the grant prizes this year.

“We are aware of what families and parents are going through, especially in the face of the current economic climate in Nigeria, and by raising the first-place prize to N7.5 million, with N5 million and N3.5 million for second and third places respectively, we are making a bold statement about our dedication to African education.

The increase in grant prizes reflects our understanding of the rising costs of quality education and our determination to ensure that exceptional students can pursue their academic dreams without financial constraints.”, Atta said

Apart from the 75 best essays, the 20 finalists will go home with brand-new Laptops and other educational tools to help them with their studies and other tertiary research work.