By Omoruyi Patricia Osayomore
Motivation is a veritable means of sustaining a culture of hard-work, commitment and success.
This is evident in the story of the Edo State education eco-system where some schools that participated in the recent Seplat inter-school quiz competition clinched cash prizes.
The prizes included scholarships and funds for infrastructural development of the schools that produced the best three students in the Seplat Quiz Competition.
The competition is an annual event organized by Seplat for secondary schools in Edo and Delta States, which host operations of the company. It is a platform meant for encouraging and enhancing students’ academic excellence in the two States.
The 2022 edition of the competition which was held at the Imaguero Secondary School, Benin City, featured senior schools such as Green Park Academy, Benin City, which won the 2022 Seplat Energy Pearls Quiz with a cash prize of N10m; the Deeper Life High School, Benin City, which clinched N5m and the University of Benin Demonstration Secondary School, Benin City, which took the third-place position, winning a cash prize of N3m, after defeating the International High School, Sapele, Delta State.
In addition, the three schools were further rewarded with scholarships of N100,000, N75,000 and N50,000 for the first, second and third place winners respectively.
The Seplat Energy Pearls Quiz Competition has benefitted about 50,000 students in Edo and Delta States, and was designed to improve the infrastructure and facilities in the participating schools with prizes for the students.
Checks showed that half of the fifty thousand students who have benefitted from the program have gone through university education and some are employed in companies and offices where they are well-paid both in Nigeria and outside the country.
There is therefore, no doubt that Edo and Delta States in partnership with Seplat have demonstrated that in aiming at the improving students’ academic performance, rewards and motivation are of utmost importance in encouraging the current participants and future generations of students.
From the foregoing, the competition addresses the Sustainable Development Goals by ensuring inclusive and equitable quality education for both public and private schools in Edo and Delta states.
Over the years it has been promoting academic excellence and promoting life-long learning opportunities for the teeming youth population.
With the high level of versatility which the competing students displayed, coupled with their performance rating from the just- concluded quiz competition, both States have now become reference points to other States in the country.
The emergence of the top three schools from Edo State is a testimony to the commitment of the administration of Governor Godwin Obaseki in improving and transforming the State’s education sector.
