SADC ESSAY WRITING COMPETITION FOR SECONDARY SCHOOLS 2020

The Southern African Development Community (SADC) Secretariat, as customary practice, has organized the SADC students Essay Writing Competition for year 2020. The Essay writing competition is intended to broaden knowledge of the secondary school going population on SADC activities and is open to Form 1 up to Form 6 students. The students are required to begin researching on the topic prior to writing and submitting their work to their Heads of School.

The topic for year 2020 deliberated by the 39th Summit of Heads of State and Governments is “How can a conducive environment for industrial development and intra – regional trade, create jobs for SADC citizens?”

The set of questions below are meant to guide students when responding to the question above. Thus, on answering the question above, a student should answer all the questions listed below:

Definition of Industrial development and how it can contribute to meaningful attainment of regional economic development and growth, as well as enhancement of the standard and quality of life of peoples of Southern Africa (20 Points)
Discuss the measures that SADC Member States should put in place to create conducive environment for industrial development and increased intra -regional trade (20 Points)
Discuss how SADC Member States can tap into its rich natural resources to grow industry, improve trade as well as create jobs for its citizens and what you perceive as stumbling blocks to industrialize within the region.(20 Points)
Discuss the pre requisite skills and knowledge needed by youthful population of the region taking meaningful lead in industrial development and trade taking into consideration challenges which have hindered SADC Member States to significantly achieve development in the past. (20 Points)

Head of schools are supposed to ensure that the students adhere to the following guidelines:

The essay should not be longer than 1200 words and not shorter than 1000 words.
Where students have access to computers, they are advised to type their essays and submit both soft in PDF format and hard copies.
Students who will type their essays will have to sign by using initials on the hard copies to make sure that they have not been altered.
Those submitting handwritten essays should ensure their entries are visible and should NOT write on both sides of the paper.
They should write on A4 papers with double margin of two centimeters.
The essay shall be written in English language.
The front page or cover page will display the name, sex, class, school address and stamp, Headmistress/Headmaster’s email address, signature and phone number, region and country.
Definition of Key concepts and a brief Historical/Background of SADC should be written in the introductory paragraph;
The title of the essay should be written on the cover page (students should not paraphrase the title) and;
All reference material must be written in the last page.

Students are expected to begin writing immediately and submit their essays to their Heads of school. The Heads of School will then be expected to constitute a marking panel which will choose best essays of the school. The panel should go through the essays (Please do not mark the essays) and choose three essays to be submitted to The Permanent Secretary Ministry of Education Science and Technology, Government City- Mtumba Area, Afya Street, P.O. Box 10, 40479 Dodoma not later than 30th March 2020. The national adjudication will take place from 02nd to 16th April 2020 in order to get three entries which will be submitted to the SADC Secretariat in Botswana by 30thApril 2020.

For more Information visit the website www.SADC.int and www.moe.go.tz