Yemisi Izuora
The schedule of competitive events that would culminate in the grand finale of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) 2018 National Science Quiz competition has been released.
A statement by Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division of NNPC, Mr. Ndu Ughamadu, said the year’s grassroots segment of the competition, comprising participation at local government and state levels, would hold Wednesday June 13 and Thursday June 21 in all local government headquarters and state capitals respectively.
It gave timelines for zonal competitions that would culminate in the National Finals/Grand Finale scheduled for September 24 and 25 in Abuja as follows: South-South Zone, Monday July 2, in Asaba; South-East Zone, Wednesday July 4, Awka; South-West Zone, Friday July 6, Ibadan; North-Central Zone, Monday July 9, Ilorin; North-West Zone, Wednesday July 11, Kaduna and North-East Zone, Friday July 13, Gombe.
NNPC Group Managing Director, Dr. Maikanti Baru, while receiving briefs on the year’s quiz schedule charged the Group Public Affairs Division of the corporation which coordinates it to ensure a hitch-free 2018 events, saying he was pleased with the administration of the 2017 competitive events.
Dr. Baru said the NNPC Quiz Competition remained a major Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programme of the corporation, adding that impacting the lives of students at impressionable age was a mission the corporation was proud of.
Typically, a winner emerges in each of the states, who would in turn, square up with their counterparts at the zonal level in September. Winners at this level of the competition would converge on Abuja for the grand finale.
The NNPC Quiz Competition was inaugurated in 2000 and limited to participants from the Niger Delta but went national in 2001. This year’s event would mark the 16thedition of the competition.
Designed mainly for students in the nation’s secondary schools, the competition has impacted positively on the intellectual attainment of young Nigerians. It has provided financial succour to successful contestants who have been placed on scholarship throughout their university education. Many of the awardees had moved on to achieve academic laurels in tertiary institutions, locally and internationally.
Fulfilling aspects of its slant, records show many of the past awardees ended up studying Science and Technology related courses in the universities. In 2010, a past winner of the competition, emerged 2nd in a contest involving others from the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) Member Countries, and Austria to commemorate the 50thAnniversary of OPEC.
Several years after its inauguration, the horizon of the competition soars.
Among the main objectives of the competition are:
· To implement a core element of NNPC Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) package
· To promote Science education in the country
· To encourage students in the study of Science and Technology related subjects
· To prepare students for promotional and qualifying examinations
· To build friendship amongst the participating students
· To develop students’ competitive spirit
· To break down long-held stereotypes and engendering a better sense of national being in participating students, through the cross-cultural interactions that the contest offers
· To provide a platform for enlightening the students and the public on the activities of NNPC.