Junior Graphic essay winners day of joy
It was an extraordinary occasion for the 2021 Junior Graphic National Essay Competition winners when they had the rare opportunity to meet and interact with the President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, at the Jubilee House in Accra last Friday.
For most of the 11 winners, not only was it the first time they were seeing the President in person; but it was also the first time of visiting the Jubilee House, the seat of government.
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The winners, who were at the Jubilee House with their proud parents and teachers, could not hide their joy when they saw the President and some government officials enter the auditorium where they had been waiting.
Their joy can be summed up in the words of the overall winner, Evangelyn Ukoma Awa when she said: “I still cannot believe this is real. If I could get words beyond thank you, I would have used them a thousand times to show my deepest appreciation. I never thought I could have such a great opportunity even if I were given a second chance to live again.”
Kelvin Appiah Ampretwum, Fedep International School, Central Region.
The winners were also accompanied by the management and some staff of the Graphic Communications Group Limited (GCGL), the Junior Graphic team, as well as some officials of the companies that sponsored the essay competition.
President Nana Akufo-Addo, in an address, encouraged students to continue to read and write to be proficient in the English Language in order to communicate their ideas and thoughts in a way that other people could understand.
He pointed out that the world was now driven by science, so young people should endeavour to take the study of science and technology seriously in order to break the barrier which hindered development.
Adjoa Nyameyie Fletcher, Pere Planque School, Cape Coast, Central Region.
The President said societies which had succeeded in the world had placed emphasis on the study of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM), adding: “We can't afford to be left behind; we have to be on top up there.”
He said the government had set a target to ensure that by the end of the decade, the ratio of students studying humanities and the sciences should be 60/40 in favour of the sciences.
President Akufo-Addo advised the winners to take what their teachers taught them seriously and also make time for leisure in order to become well-rounded students.
Christopher Gafah Boateng, Ho Fiave M/A JHS, Volta Region.
The Managing Director of the GCGL, Mr Ato Afful, indicated that experts in education had recommended reading as a critical tool for language proficiency, since it helped to improve not only students’ English Language vocabulary but also spelling, good sentence construction, and punctuation, as the students learned from different writers.
Nadjat Abidina Issaka, Sir Peter Holdbrook-Smith Memorial School, Central Region.
“This is where the Junior Graphic National Essay Competition finds its place. For us at the GCGL, it is not simply an academic exercise; it is also a social intervention policy designed to aid reading and writing among our young scholars and it is for this reason that we have channeled all our resources into education,” he added.
Prince Asare Duodo, St. Dominic R/C Basic School,Eastern Region.
He said schoolchildren in deprived communities used the Junior Graphic as a learning tool, and “it is for this reason that, in spite of the paper’s quality content and cost of our imported production inputs, we price it at an affordable GHc1.50 to ensure that schoolchildren can reasonably buy copies from their pocket money, wherever they may be in our country,” he added.
Micah Ntim, Gracefield School, Oyarifa, Greater Accra Region.
“That is the paper’s contribution to achieving the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 4, which is to ensure inclusive, equitable education and promote life-long learning opportunities for all,” he added.
Lordina Achiamaa Abebrese, Peculiar International, Central Region.
The Special Advisor to the President on the SDGs, Dr Eugene Owusu, in his welcome address, said meeting the President of the Republic should be part of every young student’s dream, and that he was delighted that the partnership with the Junior Graphic continued to provide the opportunity for selected brilliant students to meet with and share their insights on the SDGs with the President.
Rachael Hammond-Laast, Stanward School, North Kaneshie, Greater Accra Region.
“We cannot build the future for children; we must build the future that we want with children because they have the right to thrive, develop their full potential and live in a peaceful and sustainable world,” he pointed out.
Nana Ama Nimakoa Boampong, Mary’s Preparatory, Koforidua, Eastern Region.
Dr Owusu said young people were the real owners of the SDGs, so the state must continue to empower them with knowledge, skills, and resources to boost prospects for achieving the goals.
Bernard Banful-Baah, Stanward School Limited, Greater Accra Region.
Speaking on behalf of the winners, Ms Awa, who presented a framed copy of her winning essay to the President, thanked him for giving them the rare opportunity to meet him, saying they would never forget the experience.
She also thanked the Junior Graphic and the sponsors for organising the competition.
The President in a photograph with the winners of the competition, their parents and teachers, staff of the Graphic Communications Group Limited, staff from the SDGs Advisory Unit and sponsors.
Each of the 11 proud winners received a certificate signed by the President.
The essay
The 2021 edition of the Junior Graphic National Essay Competition was launched in June last year, with the aim to help sharpen schoolchildren’s writing skills and learn how to write essays correctly, improve their grammar, as well as help them perform well in the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE).
More than 3,000 schoolchildren participated in the contest, which was in three levels — district, regional and national.
The questions at each level were on various topics, including the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), letter-writing, and descriptive essays.
The competition was in partnership with the SDGs Advisory Unit at the Office of the President, with support from BiC, producers of BiC pens, IPMC, and the Ghana Library Authority.
