Nation Media Group’s essay, insha competition winners feted
The winners of the ‘Nation’ and ‘Taifa Leo’ essay and insha writing competition when they received their prizes at Nation Centre on Thursday, December 14.
What you need to know:
- Past winners of the regional competitions attained good marks in the recently released KCPE results.
- The writing competition is part of the Newspapers in Education programme by NMG that aims to boost literacy and other skills.
Twelve learners who topped in the National Essay and Insha Writing Competition run by the Nation and Taifa Leo newspapers were each awarded Sh50,000 worth of school fees at a ceremony held at the Nation Centre in Nairobi, yesterday.
The competition was part of the Newspapers in Education (NiE) programme meant to nurture oratory and writing talent in schools.
Barrack Obama of Lizar Junior School in Naivasha scored a total of 32 marks out of a possible 40 to emerge overall best in the primary schools essays category. He beat Lael Olwande of Kakamega Hill School and Esther Wema of Nairobi Primary who scored 31 marks each.
Mkasi Chimwaga of Alliance Girls won the secondary schools essays category after attaining 15 marks out of a possible 20. She beat Fridah Mwangi of Mahiga Girls (14 marks) and Getrude Omukuva of St Mary’s Girls Mumias (13 marks).
In the Taifa Leo Insha category, Sasha Nyakundi of Eronge Adventist Boarding won in the primary schools category after scoring 35 marks out of 40. She pipped Kelton Egadwa of Moses Mudavadi Mululu Primary who emerged runners-up with 34 marks. Shannel Chemutai from Kipkeino Primary School in Eldoret was ranked third with 33 marks.
Warda Saidi (Butere Girls), Michelle Morara (Bishop Gatimu Ngandu Girls) and Shirleen Muriuki (St Mary’s Girls Igoji) all had an identical score of 16 marks out of 20 in the secondary schools category.
Most of the pupils who have in the past participated in the competition at regional levels attained good grades in the recently released primary school national examination results. Egadwa of Moses Mudavadi Mululu Primary, which is enrolled in the NiE programme, scored 401 marks. Obama of Lizar School, the essay winner for the month of October, attained 86 marks in the English exam.
Nation Media Group’s Editor-in-Chief Joe Ageyo said the competition’s aim is to boost language confidence, improve writing skills and foster a culture and practice of writing among young scholars.
“It sharpens research skills and by implication improves vocabulary. It gives us a unity of purpose underscored by a vision to refine the lives of communities around us and influence the society positively. Society is shaped by the ideas we drive through writing,” he said.
Taifa Leo Lead Editor Gilbert Mogire encouraged the winners to conduct research on relevant topics and trending issues through NMG’s online platforms and other search engines, saying this will aid their learning. He added that the newspaper will not relent in its commitment to providing content that serves as a teaching aid and learning resource.
NiE Executive Cynthia Mutua, noted that the essay competition in schools has provided a platform for the students to strive for excellent performance in writing. She said that the JuniorSpot and Highschooler pullouts have had provided new ways of engaging students to improve their learning and literacy levels.
