The United Bank for Africa (UBA) Foundation on Wednesday in Lagos said it had invested over N200 million in the country’s educational system.
The Managing Director, Ms Ijeoma Aso, made this known at a news conference organised to announce its 3rd National Essay Competition.
According to Aso, education is one of the guiding principles of the foundation and it is very important in any economy.
“ Education is very important because without it, the nation can collapse educationally.
“If people are not educated, the nation cannot develop nor grow economically.
“ We, as a foundation and part of a bank, must ensure we do things that our shareholders and stakeholders will be happy to be a part of,” she said.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the essay competition to be known as “How Reading Has Impacted My Knowledge” is calling for entries from senior secondary students from Sept. 20.
“ The aim of the competition is to promote reading culture in children.
“ There is a big gap in our reading culture.
“Children are not interested in reading books anymore, but books won’t go out of fashion.
“Reading opens up our imagination, it helps us to develop mentally and know what is happening in other parts of the world. You need to read to know,” Aso said.
Prof. Raph Akinfelye, Chairman and one of the judges in the competition, said that the winners would be given N1 million for university tuition and a laptop.
Akinfeleye of the Department of Mass Communication, University of Lagos, said that the first and second runner-ups were entitled to N750, 000 and N500,000, respectively.
“The easy competitor will avail students in senior secondary schools in Nigeria the opportunity to win prize monies in the form of educational grants.
“The competition is rigorous with four judges, two females and two males on the panel,” he said.
UBA Foundation is the corporate social responsibility arm of the African financial services group, UBA.
