The crown for the 10th Mike Okonkwo National Essay Competition will be worn by Miss Patience Brown, an SS2 pupil of Apapa Senior High School, Apapa.
Patience scored 68 per cent in the first and second stages of the competition to top over 2,000 participants that sent in entries.
The competition was started in 2004 to commemorate the birthday of Bishop Mike Okonkwo, founder of The Redeemed Evangelical Mission (TREM).
The cleric hopes that Patience, who will be presented her reward, N100,000, a laptop and plaque, along with other winners on September 4, will move on to greater successes like past winners.
Second place Precious Nwaigwe of St. Francis Catholic Secondary School, Idimu, Lagos, with 66 per cent, narrowly edged out third-placed AkinwandeAkinboluwarin of the Greater Tomorrow International School, Arigidi Akoko, Ondo State by one per cent.
The fourth place went to Master David Oluwasoromidayo of Roshalom International Secondary School, Egbeda, who scored 65 per cent in the first stage but dropped to 64 in the second.
Chief examiner of the competition and celebrated author, Prof Akachi Ezeigbo of the Dept. of English, University of Lagos, praised the pupils for making similar scores in the two stages of the competition. She said this showed that they were able to defend the entries sent in (for the first stage) because the second stage was written under exam condition.
“The four candidates who scaled through the first stage proved their intellectual prowess in the second stage by satisfying our criteria. The close correlation in the mark scored by the student at both stages of the competition validates their efforts,” she said.
Prof Ezeigbo said the pupils were graded for their knowledge of current issues among other criteria.
“The students who meet our carefully defined criteria are usually those who have and can express an informed opinion on contemporary issues of national significance proposed by the organisers of the competition,” she said.
In addition to her prizes, Patience’s school will get three computers and a printer. Second placed Precious will get N75,000, a plaque and two computers and printer for his school.
Third-placed Akinwande will get N50,000, a plaque and the school gets an Internet Ready Computer. The fourth candidate David, will get a consolation price of N20,000.
The prizes will be presented at this year’s Mike Okonkwo Annual Lecture at the Shell Hall Muson Centre, Onikan, Lagos on September 4, which has as theme: The Power of your vote: A catalyst for a stable and united Nigeria.
0 Response to "Public school pupil lifts essay trophy "
Post a Comment