By Remi Johnson
… as Brunel University Organises Entrepreneur Challenge for FCT Secondary Schools…
In its drive to get the best school to represent the FCT in London, 26 secondary schools have keenly contested in the “Entrepreneur Challenge Competition” to showcase their entrepreneurial skills.
The ‘Entrepreneur Challenge’ is part of the MOU signed by the FCT Education Secretariat with Brunel University Business School, London, which started in February this year.
At the event held in Abuja, the competition provided an opportunity for young business-minded students who had undergone innovation and entrepreneurship education training to make various presentations and showcase their economic values and products.
Part of the challenge for the young student entrepreneurs was the ability to identify a problem in their community and apply their talents to proffer solutions to such societal problems, while also earning from them.
Speaking via Zoom, the judges of the keenly contested competition from Brunel University Business School, London, acknowledged that all the students performed exceptionally well and eventually selected five presentations as the best.
The Brunel University partners announced that the five schools that emerged best in the competition will go through another round of contest on the 12th of May, 2025, to determine the overall winner.
The schools include:
Gudun Kariya Secondary School, whose students made a presentation on planting palm trees to solve the scarcity of palm oil;
Government Secondary School Gwagwalada, which presented on plastic waste management and how it has inculcated a ‘waste to wealth’ initiative in Agwandodo community and other areas of Gwagwalada;
Government Secondary School Kubwa, whose students addressed the issue of “students in school, but out of school” by connecting disengaged or less privileged students, who could not pay their bills, to non-governmental organizations;
Government Secondary School Kwali, whose young entrepreneurs presented on poultry feed made from locally sourced materials, and how this initiative has helped poultry farmers address the high cost of feeds while promoting healthy bird growth to enhance food security;
Glisten International Academy, Abuja, a private school that presented on “sustainable innovative low-cost water purification,” currently addressing the lack of purified drinking water in the community.
In his remarks, the Director/Secretary of the FCT Secondary Education Board (SEB), Dr. Mohammed Sani Ladan, reiterated the Board’s commitment to championing innovation and entrepreneurship education in FCT schools to build a generation of potential entrepreneurs who will be job creators rather than job seekers.
Dr. Ladan also announced that a team of students from Maitama-Pykassa Secondary School will be traveling to South Africa for another competition today. He expressed appreciation to the FCT Minister, Dr. Nyesom Wike, for consistently approving funds for students to participate in competitions abroad.
Also contributing, the Coordinator of the Nigeria Innovation Challenge, Mr. Musa Nuhu, revealed that the FCTA is currently building a center where students can carry out practicals, aiming to explore their hidden talents to meet the demands of the 21st century.
Speaking on the benefits of the MOU with Brunel University, the Deputy Director and Coordinator of the programme, Mrs. Helen Idakoji, expressed delight that the products of the three winning schools will be connected to industries in London.
According to Mrs. Idakoji, the initiative of inculcating entrepreneurship education in secondary students, to catch them young, would go a long way in changing the narrative that Nigerian schools are churning out half-baked graduates.