Government Girls Secondary School, Abaji, Abuja, has won the Junior Achievement (JA) Nigeria Entrepreneur Competition as it’s students’ company emerged as the best Regional Company of the year in FCT.
The school will now present the FCT at a national competition in Lagos slated for Lagos this year.
GSS Maitama emerged second while Community Secondary School, Asokoro came third.
Speaking, the executive director, Junior Achievement (AJ), Mrs Simi Nwogugu, said the programme was organised to build entrepreneur skills in young people.
“Many youths don’t have jobs after graduation from the university. But we target secondary school students because our universities can only admits about 300,000 to 400, 000. We wants youths that are productive. We have over 600,000 youths graduating from the secondary schools that are unemploy. So, we give them this entrepreneur skills to enable them go into businesses while waiting for admission,” Simi said.
She said the organisation gets sponsorship from companies that understand the need for young Nigerians to be productive adding that some of the companies donates money while others volunteer to tech in the the students in the class rooms.
She said they have carried out the competition in other region adding that with the emergence of the school in the Northern region, they will compete at a national competition in Lagos in August.
She said the winner will represent Nigeria at the Junior and Senior Africa competition.
The Director, FCT Secondary Education Board who was represented at the prgramme by the head of division Science, Technology and Mathematics, Hajiya Ramatu Nusa Kamar, said they have won several awards in the FCT.
According to Ramatu, the projects the students executed will be remodel for national development.
She commended Junior Achievement projects and the teachers for a job well done.
JA Company Programme teaches senior secondary level school students how to start and run their own business; develop a product or services, and market their brand with the support of a volunteer.
“Students come together to form a company, chose a business name and elect company officer to oversee the company for the programme duration.10 percent of the profit is channelled towards Corporate Social Responsibility,” Simi added.
