Clever minds get cash incentives

As part of their long-standing partnership with the Ministry of Education, a commercial bank this week expended a subtantial amount to the best performing learners in the Grade 10 and Grade 12 examinations at the end of last year. Standard Bank Namibia awarded cash prizes worth N$280,000 to 84 top performing Grade 10 and Grade 12 learners including 28 best schools countrywide at a prize-giving ceremony held in Windhoek earlier this week. The bank said “as a Corporate Social Investment initiative, Standard Bank Namibia’s Academic Excellence programme is incentive driven and rewards the top three best performing Grade 10 and 12 learners in each region with a cash prize.

The top performer in each region for both Grade 10 and 12 received N$4000, while the second learner received N$3000 and the third N$2000. The school of the top performer in each region was awarded a cash prize of N$1000. “I have no doubt that today’s award ceremony will encourage learners across Namibia to aim for the sky in all their endeavours. And I also believe that all our prize winners will be ambassadors of their respective regions and will continue to do us proud by one day becoming valuable and great leaders in Namibia in their respective fields they venture into. We are really proud of you and confident that your role in the future will contribute to the enhancement of our economy and in turn our people,” said Standard Bank Namibia’s PR & Communications Manager, Surihe Gaomas-Guchu.  The Minister of Education Hon Dr David Namwandi told the learners that education is the key to a bright future and the responsibility should not be left in the hands of the government alone. “Let us join hands to fulfil this collective responsibility to provide quality education to our children. We all have a valuable role to play and I urge more corporate companies to join us in this noble cause for us to reach our developmental goal of Vision 2030,” he said.