The Member of Parliament for Navrongo Central in the Upper East Region, Simon Aworigo, has reiterated his commitment to improving education and literacy among young people in the constituency through a series of educational initiatives, including scholarship schemes and an annual essay competition for junior and senior high school students.

Speaking during this year’s Independence Day celebration in Navrongo, Mr Aworigo explained that the annual essay competition forms part of broader efforts aimed at enhancing literacy, critical thinking, and numeracy among students in the constituency. 

According to him, the initiative has already begun yielding positive results since its introduction last year.

“From awarding scholarships to launching an annual essay competition among junior and senior high school students in the constituency, these are all efforts aimed at helping improve the learning of our children and strengthening literacy, while not leaving out numeracy,” Mr. Aworigo stated.

He noted that the maiden edition of the essay competition received encouraging participation from students across the constituency, demonstrating strong interest among young learners to engage in intellectual discussions about issues affecting their communities and schools.

“Last year we received a lot of applications from many students who took part in the competition, and the level of enthusiasm was very impressive,” the MP said.

Mr Aworigo disclosed that the competition has been structured to address relevant social and educational issues while sharpening students’ writing and comprehension skills. For this year’s edition, students at the junior high school level will write on the topic: “How to improve sanitation in my locality.” Meanwhile, students in the senior high school category will tackle the theme: “The rising incidence of student indiscipline in senior high schools in Ghana.”

He further explained that senior high school participants will be required to write a formal letter to the Minister of Education outlining five practical measures that can help curb the growing problem of indiscipline in Ghanaian schools.

According to Mr Aworigo, selecting topics that reflect real-life challenges encourages students to think critically and propose practical solutions to issues affecting their communities and the country at large.

“Drawing from the gains of last year’s competition, we believe this initiative will continue to sharpen the writing and comprehension skills of our students,” he said.

Reflecting on the outcomes of the previous competition, the MP indicated that participants received constructive feedback to help them improve their performance.

“It was very good. We have looked at the outcomes, and feedback was provided to the participants. Some of them will take part again this year. That means they will improve and come back to do better than they did last year,” he stressed.

As part of the launch of this year’s essay competition and the Independence Day celebrations, Mr. Aworigo, with support from several corporate partners, made donations to schools to support students’ welfare and the celebration activities.

The donations included GH¢30,000 worth of biscuits from CBL West Africa Limited, 25 boxes of sanitary pads from Sanda International to support menstrual hygiene among schoolgirls, and 200 boxes of soft drinks from Twellium Limited to support the marching parades of students who participated in the Independence Day celebrations. 

Additionally, FrieslandCampina Ghana donated milk to further support the students during the event.

Mr Aworigo emphasized that the support from corporate partners has played an important role in sustaining the initiative and ensuring that students receive the encouragement needed to participate in educational programmes.

He particularly commended Twellium Ghana Limited for its significant support in ensuring that the essay competition achieves its objectives within the constituency.

The Independence Day celebration brought together a large gathering of students and teachers from various schools within the constituency, as well as traditional leaders, opinion leaders, and other stakeholders in education and community development.

Many of the attendees praised the initiative, describing it as a practical way of motivating students to develop strong reading, writing, and analytical skills while also encouraging them to engage constructively with issues affecting their communities and the nation.