The Nigeria Higher Education Foundation (NHEF) has announced its 7th Annual Scholarship Essay Competition, which aims to encourage critical thinking among university students on topical socio-economic issues relevant to Nigeria’s sustainable growth and development. This year’s competition focuses on “The CBN Naira redesign policy and its effect on the Nigerian economy & the consequence of increased brain drain on the economy,” given the country’s current financial and economic situation.

• The 7th edition of the Nigeria Higher Education Foundation (NHEF) Scholarship Essay Competition has returned, offering university students a distinctive opportunity to demonstrate their critical thinking abilities on socio-economic issues.
• This year's theme focuses on the CBN Naira redesign policy and its effect on the Nigerian economy & increased brain drain on the economy.
• Essays should be submitted via the NHEF Application Portal by April 7, 2023.

NHEF Scholarship Essay Competition Theme and Topics

The 2023 NHEF Essay Competition focuses on “The CBN Naira redesign policy and its effect on the Nigerian economy & the consequence of increased brain drain on the economy”. Participants can choose between the two essay topics:

1. Leading to the recent currency redesign policy, the Central Bank of Nigeria reported that about 84.71% of the N3.23 trillion currency in circulation was outside the banking system. A situation described to be a risk to its currency management responsibility. Using relevant examples, critically analyze the pros & cons of the monetary policy implementation and provide recommendations to the CBN for future policy implementation based on the consequent challenges experienced nationwide.
2. Article 13, section 2 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states, “Everyone has the right to leave any country, including his own, and to return to his country”. This statement agrees with the Nigerian constitution on the Right to Freedom of Movement. However, a significant increase in brain drain can be classified as an anomaly for any economy. Critically analyze the factors causing human capital flight in Nigeria and recommend relevant solutions to safeguard the country’s economic growth and development.

NHEF Scholarship Essay Competition Prizes

• The Grand Prize winner will receive ₦100,000, a new laptop, 1 online certificate course*, a 1-year internet subscription**, and 1 year of university tuition.
• The First Runner-up will receive ₦75,000, a 1-year internet subscription**, and 1 year of university tuition.
• The Second Runner-up will receive ₦50,000, a 1-year internet subscription**, and 1 year of university tuition.

*The online certificate course may not exceed $100 on Udemy, Coursera, Alison or EDX.

**1-year internet subscription estimated at 24Gb on the winner’s preferred mobile network.

NHEF Scholarship Essay Competition Eligibility

The competition is only open to students enrolled at NHEF Partner Universities, including Ahmadu Bello University, Bayero University, Kano, Kwara State University, University of Ibadan, University of Lagos, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, and the University of Port Harcourt. NHEF will verify the enrollment of each contestant with the University Registrar. Previous NHEF Essay Competition & Scholars Program beneficiaries are not eligible to participate in this competition.

NHEF Scholarship Essay Competition Criteria for Submission

The guidelines for essay submission are as follows:

• The essay should reflect the author’s ability to explore and discuss ideas/ethical concepts and demonstrate the conduct of research with a sufficiently detailed summary.
• Only one entry may be submitted per student.
• The essay must include a title page, a bibliography, and a scanned copy of the contestant’s current Student ID.
• The student’s name, university, and registration ID# must appear in the header of each page.
• The essay must not exceed 2000 words.
• It must be double-spaced, 12pt Times New Roman font, and contain numbered pages with one-inch margins, excluding the bibliography and title page.
• References in the essay should be included and clearly identified.

Hot to Submit Entries for NHEF Scholarship Essay Competition

The format for essay submission is as follows:

• The document naming convention should be: 2023 NHEF Essay Competition – Name of Applicant, e.g., 2023 NHEF Essay Competition – Adekunle Ciroma Ahmed.
• Entries must be submitted in PDF format.
• All entries must be submitted via the NHEF Application Portal (https://portal.thenhef.org/) by 11:59 p.m. (WAT) on April 7, 2023.
• Students are encouraged to avoid plagiarism, as the essays will be checked for intellectual authenticity and against Artificial Intelligence (AI) generated content, e.g., ChatGPT.
• A helpful guide on how to avoid plagiarism is provided here.

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