Secondary School students on Montserrat will soon be getting another chance to put their critical thinking skills on display through essay writing.
The Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB) has announced the launch of its 2015 OECS Essay Competition.
The contest, which is designed to encourage critical thinking among the students of the Eastern Caribbean Currency Union (ECCU) is also geared towards motivating their engagement in discussions on issues that impact the development of Montserrat and the other OECS territories.
The students will be asked to discuss through essay writing the competition topics which include “Mass media have great influence in shaping young people’s ideas, choices and social development, and “Given the advancement in communication and technology, the current policies regarding students’ use of cell phones at school need to be revised.”
The students will also discuss in essay format the topic “A good character is more important than academic qualifications for young people who aspire to be political leaders in the OECS.”
The topics were selected from entries submitted by secondary school teachers across the ECCU.
The OECS Essay Competition, which the ECCB has been hosting since 1996, is open to students in the ECCU states aged 14 – 19.
The entries are judged in two categories: ages 14 to 16 and ages 17 to 19.
The typewritten essays must be 750 to 1000 words and will be assessed for content, soundness of points, logical development, knowledge of the subject, command of language and presentation.
Cash prizes amounting to EC$10,000 will be awarded to the first, second and third place winners in each category, while grants amounting to EC$6,000 will be awarded to their respective schools.
The schools with the most entries in the top 10 for each category will also receive a cash award of EC$500 each.
Since the inception of the competition in 1996, the ECCB has awarded grants amounting to EC$256,000.00 to students and their respective schools.
The essays for the 2015 OECS Essay Competition must be submitted to the ECCB Headquarters or the Bank’s Agency Office in the respective member territories.
The deadline for submission of entries is March 27th 2015.
