Sept. 20, 2023

Nigeria’s Xara Orji has been named among winners of 5th World Bank, Financial Times youth blog competition.

In a statement on Tuesday by the World Bank, three winning entries were selected from Aizhan Karpykova (Kazakhstan), Chinmayee Bhattacharjee (India), and Xara Orji from Nigeria.

According to the statement, Aizhan hailed the renewal of in-person classes and interaction and is delighted in the flexibility that hybrid learning has brought to Kazakhstan, helping circumvent a long-standing issue of weather-induced school shutdowns.

Chinmayee celebrated the ‘silver lining’ of students discovering more autonomy in their learning and the improved accessibility and quality of online materials in India.

Xara highlighted how infrastructure and education systems are so closely entwined, and how the pandemic experience is leading to new investment in education and digital skills in Nigeria.

The bank however congratulated the winners; Aizhan, Chinmayee, and Xara, and thanked all the students from around the world who sent in creative, thoughtful, and innovative submissions.