This year marks the 10th anniversary of the annual Stanbic National Schools Championship (NSC), the widely acclaimed entrepreneurship and innovation competition for secondary school students and teachers.
In an exclusive interview with the CEO East Africa Magazine, Diana Ondoga, Head of Corporate Social Investment (CSI) at Stanbic Bank looks back at the history of the National Schools Championship, its impact on young people, success stories and the future ahead.
Looking back over the decade, is the Stanbic National Schools Championship living up to its original promise?
I would say the Stanbic National Schools Championship has exceeded its expectations immensely. At the start, the strategic focus of the competition was the individual; the young Ugandan child in Secondary School whose life would be impacted through a test of what knowledge they had and their ability to articulate it when asked a question. The scope of impact has since changed to shaping the software of that child; This starts by appreciating who they are , equipping them with skills and presenting an opportunity for the child to showcase their abilities outside the classroom supplementing their learning.
This shift in the programme builds young Ugandans who are aware that there is an expectation that they can solve not just their own problems but also those that are affecting their communities.
In addition, the programme incorporated the teachers, the primary caregivers of the school going children during the school term and a very influential factor of how a child perceives themselves and their abilities. This has crashed the boundaries of the proverbial box because teachers do not just school children, they educate them, and their involvement means that they become guardians of the mindset shift because they are involved and they up skill as the children learn too. It is a positive symbiotic relationship.
How has the competition evolved over these years to make it a more effective initiative in empowering young people?
At the start of the competition, we were transforming lives through debate and quizzes. We have since morphed into a skilling programme with the realization that for long lasting change, it is the “software” that must be supported. What I mean by software is the individual’s inner fiber that determines what their life ahead could look like. Through the skilling programme, we focus on equipping the individual with lifelong skills that they can use in their future e.g. personal development, communication skills, negotiation skills,
Currently as head of the docket, do you have plans for major changes or improvements and what is your vision for next decade?
Because it is a decade of the competition, I’m sure that there are many people keen to establish what impact has been created over the 10 years. This year, we shall carry stories to showcase this impact. This has also prompted us to enhance the support to the ventures that have been created throughout these 10 years. Unlike previous years, we shall have only two categories
What impact has the championship had on Ugandan youth, especially in nurturing their entrepreneurial skills?
The Stanbic National Schools Championship has first shifted the mindset from “After School, I must look for a job” to “I can create a job starting with where I am right now”
From the start of the skilling programme today, there are more than 187 business ventures that were borne out of this.
Can you share any particular success stories that stand out and speak to the effectiveness of this approach in empowering young people?
These are quite many that It would take me quite some time to share the multitudes of stories but I’ll quickly list a few out of the many;
- In Kamuli, Kamuli High School received running water for the first time because they won a water system from the NSC.
- Still related to access to clean water, Abia Seed Secondary School in Alebtong multiplied the water supply not just to their school but the whole community benefited because of the gift that they received from the NSC
- A young lady is pursuing her education at Uganda Christian University, the first from her village because of the Stanbic National Schools Championship scholarship programme
- ***An orphaned boy participated in the NSC talent production. He went on to enrol for a Stanbic Sponsored programme at Boundless Minds. He started a business and went through the Stanbic Bank Incubator Limited business mentorship programme. He was a finalist in the NSSF HI Innovator. As we speak, he started a business, even joined the Business Network International and is thriving.
As I mentioned, there are quite a number of stories of lives changed so I’ll end with two which involve one of the former board members of the bank.
During the appraisal trip, we went to the field and checked out the students and teachers who have implemented what they learnt using the capital that they received in the competition. We went with one of our board members to Kibuli SS.
One of the students then in Senior Six asked very strategic questions that really impressed the board member who offered Twalha an apprenticeship during his vacation.
Twalha took up the offer but because he excelled, the firm was impressed and Twalha was offered a job. He works alongside his studies and recently travelled for an audit out of the country because of that conversation when he participated in the NSC.
In the second case, the board member was part of a panel with the first graduate from the NSC, a lawyer. He was impressed by her submission and offered her a job in his Company. The rest as they say is history.
But my final one is the story of a young man who graduated in the latest batch from MUBS. He was a head boy at Ndejje SS and continued to lead even at the university.
He’s taken his passion for grooming leaders and supporting students in Secondary School and his agemates and is channeling this through a company that he set up – Rise Oratory.
All of these stories demonstrate that when you ignite the drive in a young person and then power it up with the right skills; you arm them with what they need to live to their fullest potential and contribute positively to the socio-economic growth of any country.
What feedback have you received from schools, students, and teachers regarding the program?
The feedback has largely been one of appreciation for the competition because of the positive transformation that it has created for the students, the teachers and schools and I’ll share a few examples.
- The program complements the new O ’level curriculum.
- The psychosocial support provided throughout the programme facilitates the wellbeing of the learners.
- The prizes have been life changing because many students own their first laptops, phones as a result of the NSC and solar and water systems change the lives of the students and their communities.
- Several patron teachers have received promotions because they demonstrate added value to the students and for those who participate, they have been able to improve their livelihood.
- Gratitude that learners from their schools who would never have had a chance at University Education do so because of the Scholarship programme.
In fact, several patron teachers keep requesting that the programme is scaled so that they can bring along more of their students to the boot camp to receive the skills first hand.
This being a substantial financial undertaking, what challenges have you encountered in running NSC, and how have you addressed them?
One of the challenges we have faced is low awareness of the programme. When we put out a call for application, we usually have few schools applying despite the sustained positive impact of the competition. We really would like as many schools to partake of the great things that the programme has to offer.
To avert this, last year we worked through the structures of the Min of Education to reach as many of the 5,000 secondary schools that exist in the country.
We launched the Competition at the meeting of National Municipal and District Officers (NAMUDEO) in Arua and also received support from the Association of Senior Secondary School Head teachers (ASSSHU) to send out the call for applications.
We realized a 10% increment in applications. We intend to utilize this support again this year as we mark 10 years of the Stanbic National Schools Championship.
How do you plan to adapt the program to address the changing needs of society, notably digital transformation trends?
We have incorporated design thinking into the competition. Design thinking is about developing people-centered solutions to the problems. With the trends in tech and IT, to scale a solution, one needs the digital aspect of it.
What opportunities do you see for expanding the NSC’s reach and impact?
The first opportunity is to increase the number of schools and this year, we shall have 150 schools at the bootcamp.
The second opportunity is to increase the number of students in each school that make it to the bootcamp. Currently, we host 2 students however if we increased that number to say 5, it means we shall reach more students and families.
The third opportunity is to have attractive prizes that are fit for purpose. This way the schools and their communities aspire to win these prizes. This is something that we are looking into for season 10 and will share more details as the program progresses.
In terms of new partnerships to help sustain NSC into the future, are there any in the offing?
For any transformational programme to scale its impact, there is a need for partnership which allows different entities to contribute from their specialty. The benefit being that it enriches the experience for the participant or beneficiary.
To this end, we shall engage potential partners in the shape of technical skills, experience for the participants, prize partners. We welcome any entities in the space of youth skilling and empowerment, tech and digital, environmental conservation to join us.
What personally motivates you in leading this initiative?
It is the desire to set up young people to achieve their greatest potential. This opportunity that children who participate in this competition have is one that many of us millennials did not have and therefore took a longer route to arrive at what our purpose was and what.
I am motivated by the awareness that had I gone through a similar experience in my formative years, my life may have turned out differently from what it is today because I would have left Secondary School with a sense of my purpose and with the skills to achieve my purpose and full potential.
When I interact with different participants, you cannot miss the determination that they carry because they have been sharpened for what lies ahead be it entrepreneurship or employment.
How do you feel about the overall role of financial institutions like Stanbic Bank in supporting youth entrepreneurship in Uganda?
It is one of the aspects that would give any financial institution the license to operate. Any progressive financial institution will want to proactively shape its sustainability by supporting youth through their life time from school to employment.