For the next seven days, over 150 schools are participating in the highly demanding, but exciting boot camp stage of the annual Stanbic National Schools Championship (NSC) taking place at Seroma Christian High School in Mukono District.
Diana Ondoga, Head of Social Corporate Investment at Stanbic Bank said, “Here we take them through skilling on business entrepreneurship, on personal management, business modeling, but also psycho-social because mental health is a key element of the well-being of a Ugandan learner.”
She said the NSC targets young Ugandans between the ages of 13 and 18 with the objective of skilling them to prepare themselves for the real world. She said NSC complements the curriculum changes introduced by the Ministry of Education about five years ago, in the sense that it is an initiative allows students to practice what they are learning in preparation for the future.
The Championship is also aligned with the National Development Plan because it empowers youth, who make up the majority of the population, to be better equipped to face the challenges of limited jobs in the formal sector.
“So, through this program, we give them skills they can use to become problem- solvers and when they do, they become entrepreneurs, employers and responsible citizens of the country. Why we start it at this age, is because it’s a clean slate; it’s easy to shape the fabric of their thoughts, but also get them off the perception that after school they are going to be able to find jobs,” she said.
Sebastian Nyanzi, a student of St. Mary’s College Kisubi (SMACK) said, “I have realized that the country has a lot of innovative students, but what’s the purpose of innovation if you can’t make money out of it?”
He said his team is excited about the boot camp because it will teach them how to benefit from what they innovate. “I have learnt that you can be book-wise intelligent, but you really need innovations to take you to the next level and Stanbic is here to ensure that our innovations are taken to the next level,” he said.
Atima Adaka, from Lira Town College, also expressed her excitement for the boot camp noting that she can’t wait for the mentorship in order to improve their business idea.
“I can’t wait to learn from big minds during the boot camp, but I also expect to win and take our business idea further, because in my community, I know our idea would be of great use,” she said.
Amos Muwanguzi, a teacher of English language at St. John Paul in Gulu district, said he felt privileged to support his students in developing an application which is a school management system. It can handle report cards, payment of school fees, recording daily reports of teachers, and school timetables among other things.
“We are solving the problem of dodging of school activities, digitizing activities that happen in schools, but also combat school absenteeism as it is one of the biggest problems in our communities,” he said.
He asked fellow teachers to inspire their learners, because they have a lot on their minds to share, but this knowledge is often suppressed by the teachers themselves.
“These students have a lot on their minds. But because we don’t sit with them full time, to get to know what they are thinking about, their future and what they would wish to do or become in the future, rather we neglect them and they end up in a life they don’t deserve,” he said.
