Fides Media Living the Faith
… St Theresa’s Enugwu-Ukwu, St John of God Awka, Runners-Up
By Ifeoma Ezenyilimba
The grand finale of the 2022 Annual Catholic Diocese of Awka Secondary Schools Quiz Competition has ended with St Anthony’s Catholic Comprehensive Institute, Agulu (SACCIA) of Adazi Region, Anaocha LGA, Anambra State, defeating seven other schools to lift the emerge winners with 101 marks.
In the finals held at the Multipurpose Hall of St John of God Secondary School, Awka, on Tuesday, February 1, St Theresa’s Secondary School, Enugwu-Ukwu of Nimo Region, Njikoka LGA, and St John of God Secondary School, Awka of Awka Region, Awka South LGA, won the 2nd and the 3rd positions with 96 marks and 95 marks respectively.
Fides gathered that eight schools that took 1st, 2nd and 3rd positions at the regional level during the preliminary stages, competed in the finals of the competition. St Augustine’s Secondary School, Ichida
of Adazi Region, did not meet up for the finals due to logistics problem.
The overall winner, St Anthony’s Catholic Comprehensive Institute, Agulu, had also emerged the champion in Adazi Region at the preliminary stage.
Other schools that made it to the grand finale of the quiz competition included St Michael’s Model Comprehensive Secondary School, Nimo of Nimo Region whuch came 4th with 89 marks; Tansi International College, Awka (TICA) of Awka Region, 5th position with 88 marks; Bubendorf Memorial Grammar School (BMGS), Adazi-Nnukwu of Adazi Region, 6th position with 84 marks; Stella Maris Girls’ College, Abagana of Nimo Region, 7th position with 66 marks and St Patrick’s College, Awka, 8th position with 64 marks.
The schools were represented by four students who were in SS 3, SS 2, SS 1 and JSS 3 respectively.
Each of the eight schools went home with a certificate of participation. While the overall champion and the two runners-up also smiled home with their certificates of
victory and trophies. A JSS 3 student of SACCIA, Chidiogo Igwilo, smiled home with a cash gift of N5, 000 for being the student that answered most of the questions correctly.
In line with the directives of the National Catholic Secretariat, Abuja, the quiz competition was based on the Encyclical Letter, Laudato Si of Pope Francis and the 2021 Lenten Pastoral Letter of the Catholic Bishop of Awka Diocese, Most Rev Paulinus Ezeokafor.
Presenting the certificates and trophies to the participating and the winning schools, the Education Secretary, Awka Diocese, Rev Fr Maximus Okonkwo, congratulated both the winners and the entire schools that made it to the finals. He urged the losers to accept defeat in good faith, and put in more effort to do better in future.
For his part, the quiz competition coordinator and education secretary, Adazi Region, Rev Fr Felix Nwosu, commended the students for the show of intelligence and comportment, which, he said, they displayed throughout the competition. He encouraged the losing schools to do better in subsequent years