6 states advance to finals of Lafarge National Literacy Competition

The second edition of Lafarge National Literacy Competition has reached its final stage as the grand finale holds in Lagos next week, after the successful completion of the regional contests in the six geo-political zones of Nigeria.

With dignitaries from government and the Nigerian education sector expected to be in attendance, the event will witness a keen contest amongst the six states of Enugu, Lagos, Kaduna, Kogi, Taraba and Rivers, which emerged winners at the regional stage of the competition.

This CSR initiative which is in line with the building materials giant’s commitment to promote quality education and academic excellence amongst Nigerian children is powered by employees of Lafarge Africa Plc under its volunteering programme, in partnership with Ovie Brume Foundation- a non-governmental organization focused on youth education and empowerment.

The Lafarge National Literacy Competition is organized to promote value and excellence along the entire education value chain, while improving literacy skills across public primary school pupils in the country. It engages pupils in activities that measure and advance their ability to read, write and spell correctly and also features literacy tests, essay/summary writing and spelling bees to evaluate their reading and writing abilities.

Commenting on the rationale behind the literacy initiative, the Group MD/CEO, Lafarge Africa Plc, Peter Hoddinott assured of the company’s commitment to developing the literacy skills of Nigerian children in line with its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) values to grow and nurture communities where it operates.

Hoddinott stated that “We understand the key role education plays in the development of any society. We are driven to build better cities for all and to effectively do that, the education of children who are the leaders of tomorrow is pivotal. The National literacy competition is born out of the desire to equip young children, who are the future custodians of Nigeria, begin the journey to assert concrete foundations that will act as the basis of ensuring lasting legacies. It is our culture of promoting and developing relevant tools for this vision that led to our Lafarge Friends of Community and in turn, this competition”

So far, the second edition of the competition has been a good journey with unique story to tell by each participating region. No doubt, there is a lot of excitement in the air about who will emerge the winner in the second edition of the Lafarge National Literacy Competition.