The ultimate winner, Genevieve Budu of the Ghana International School, took home $5000 while Kenrich Nii Nakai Nettey from the Presbyterian Boys Senior High School (PRESEC) and Cecilia Akye from the Methodist Girls High School, Mamfe, who emerged second and third respectively received $3000 and $2,000.

In addition, all 10 finalists received medals and certificates of participation along with laptops and other UBA-branded items.

It was made possible through the UBA Foundation, a corporate social responsibility arm of the bank with a commitment to the socio-economic betterment of communities.

The Managing Director (MD) of UBA Ghana, Chris Ofikulu, in a statement issued by the bank, stated that the foundation believed that the future of Africa lay in its youths.

For this reason, he said the foundation had spent huge sums of money to actively facilitate educational projects and bridge the literacy gap on a Pan-African scale.

He said the National Essay Competition of the bank had grown to be one of the best initiatives that allowed every student in senior high school (SHS) to exhibit their cognitive skills and potential while developing a positive work ethic with problem-solving and critical thinking skills.

“The competition is one of our stunning initiatives to which we will forever pledge our full commitment,” he said.

Congratulations

The Director in charge of General Administration at the Ministry of Education (MoE), Catherine Agyapomaa Appiah Pinkrah, who spoke on behalf of the Minister of Education, Dr Yaw Osei Adutwum, congratulated all the finalists and commended UBA for its immense contributions to the country’s education and commitment to enhance the writing skills of the youth.

GES pledge

The Programme Officer of the Schools and Instructions Division at the Ghana Education Service (GES), Ajuba Amihere Adu-Tutu, said the GES would continue to support the UBA essay competition as the importance of essay writing could not be downplayed in education.

Gratitude

The ultimate winner of the National Essay Competition 2022, Genevieve Budu, expressed gratitude to the entire team at UBA for organising the competition.

The event was attended by the management of UBA Ghana, heads and representatives of participating schools, representatives from GES and the MoE.

The 10 finalists were selected from more than 400 entries.