By Mabinty M. Kamara
In an effort to engage the minds of Sierra Leonean children in school about their role in the growth and development of the country, the European Union delegation to Sierra Leone has awarded five star candidates in an essay competition organised by the mission.
The five best candidates were selected among 48 competitors presented by schools across the country. The first runner up in the competition was a senior school pupil of the St. Augustine Senior School in Pujehun Mohamed Tiffa followed by another boy from the Ansarul Islamic Secondary School in Kenema, the Third and fourth places were occupied by two pupils from the Islamic call society in Bonthe , Munda Sumaila and Mafriama Mattia and the fifth best writer was Yerie S. Korio from the St George Agricultural School in Kambia.
All 48 finalists were given certificates of participation while the best candidates received a dell laptop each. All the participating schools were also supported with teaching materials.
Speaking at the award ceremony held on the 12th December 2023 at Sierra Palms Hotel in Freetown, the European Union representative Elisa…mentioned the mission’s diverse contribution to Sierra Leone, especially through education. She said the essay was intended to hear first-hand from the pupils how they can contribute to the development of Sierra Leone in their own rights.
She therefore commended the participants and their organizing partners the Ministry of Basic and senior school for their efforts in ensuring a free fair and credible competition. She said the European Union stands with the government development trajectory, saying that they will continue to support it, especially in the education sector which happens to be a priority for the government. She highlighted the multi-donor trust fund to which they are contributing to many initiatives like the construction of 100 schools across the country. “We will continue to support the increased access to education and improved quality of learning,” she said.
She encouraged the pupils to do more, saying that the essays that they have written were not just any other essay but a window into the aspirations of Sierra Leone youths who are the architects of the country’s development. “All the essays were good work and represent a window of the future for the country,” she added.
In her statement, Madam Francess Kamara representing the Ministry of Basic and Senior Secondary School highlighted the ministry’s role in organizing the event- from selecting the schools, to conducting the essay which was done in the form of an examination. She said unlike other competitions, the pupils were placed in a hall with various supervisors monitoring and guiding their work over a period of time and got good essays from the pupils. She applauded the European Union for their strides in supporting education among other development agendas in the country.
Speaking at the event, Elizabeth Kamara who served as Chief Judge among five judges for the competition described the competition as unique. As judges, she said they had no relationship or idea about who the competitors were and that even their names were written in a coded form to ensure fairness. She said all forty –eight scripts were marked by each and every judge in their notepads which were later compiled at a conference marking and the person that took the first position was the same for all other judges.
“Not only were the students anonymous, even the judges were anonymous. In fact, I only met my fellow judges on the day we had the judges’ consultation meeting. That was when I learned that the organisers premier media have codes for the participants, schools and districts,” she said.
She said for the purpose of the competition, three key areas were examined; content, the use of the English language, and how realistic the ideas presented.
The Top candidate in the competition Tiffa expressed appreciation for the opportunity to showcase their ideas and committed to be more studious.
The competitors according to the organisers presented different ideas such as education, entrepreneurship, early marriage, and child rights and skills development among others.
Copyright © 2023 Politico (22/12/23)
