Mauritius School tops global education competition

London, 3rd May 2012

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

JR School in Mauritius has been named the overall winner of the School Enterprise Challenge, a global competition for schools. The announcement coincides with the launch of the 2012 competition, which opened for registration today.

Organised by development charity, Teach A Man To Fish, this international competition aims to reward schools, primarily in developing countries, for their sustainable and entrepreneurial skills. With prizes up to $5,000, it gives a chance to schools to develop their businesses skills further, by bringing in extra income and teaching students useful entrepreneurial skills.

With over 350 entries, it was a tough competition and the judges had a difficult task, but JR School came out on top thanks to the success of their student run café.

"Participation has changed our lives and provided a new orientation for the future of the JR School, its students and customers, parents, trainers and the community at large! Students now have all the skills they need to start their own business"- Headmaster at JR School.

African schools dominated in the business round prizes, taking four out of four of the $1000 prizes available for the best business plan. They were Sovhen in Uganda, Indeco School in Zambia, KCM Konkola Trust in Zambia and The President Barack Obama Computer College in Kenya

Indeco School in Zambia triumphed again, winning a further $5000 for the 'People' prize, to awards a business that has a positive effect on the local community. Their bag and school uniform-making business, named Indeco Divine Hands, has generated sufficient profit to allow the installation of electricity at the school.

"The fact that Indeco Divine Hand is a part of the School Enterprise Challenge has really brightened the spirits of the school community and the installation of electricity at the school has greatly improved the welfare of our students"- Headmaster of Indeco School.

Also winners of $5000 for the 'Profit' and 'Planet' prizes are Gymnasium N4 in Belarus and The Heritage School in India respectively. The former recognizes schools that have turned a significant profit, as Gymnasium N4 did with their furniture restoration business, in spite of an unfavorable economic climate. The latter rewards an enterprise that has a low or positive impact on the environment, exemplified by The Heritage's School mushroom cultivation business.

This week also sees the launch of the 2012 School Enterprise Challenge, which unlike last year, is open to all schools around the globe. In addition to the $1,000 and $5,000 general prizes for schools, this year's competition will include individual prizes of $2,000 for the best teacher as well as a laptop for the best student.

"We are delighted to be holding the second School Enterprise Challenge. With more countries and schools getting involved the competition will be even bigger and better and more young people will be equipped with the skills needed to enter the business world," says Nik Kafka, Managing Director of Teach A Man To Fish.

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ABOUT THE SCHOOL ENTERPRISE CHALLENGE
The School Enterprise Challenge is a global competition open to all formal educational institutes in every country. It is a chance for schools and their students to develop a school business that not only generates additional income for the school, but also provides students with valuable business skills. There are two routes to enter the 2012 School Enterprise Challenge:

Route 1 (Developing & Developed Countries)
Stage I: Business Planning: Students decide on their enterprise and research & develop a business plan outlining what they intend to do & how they will finance it.
Stage II: Enterprise challenge: Schools elect a board to manage the business, assign roles, mobilize resources for start-up, and implement their enterprises.
Route 2 (Developed Countries)
Write and submit a business plan aimed at a partner school in a developing country. Schools will be encouraged to interact with their overseas partner schools as much as possible, and to learn from each other's experience of the business planning process.

Website: www.schoolenterprisechallenge.org.uk
Facebook: schoolenterprisechallenge
Twitter: @SchEnterprise


ABOUT TEACH A MAN TO FISH
Teach A Man To Fish is an international non-profit organization working to improve the relevancy, quality, and availability of education in developing countries. Our pioneering approach uses profit-making school-run businesses to teach entrepreneurship and livelihood skills. This model allows schools to generate additional income, improving their financial sustainability, while at the same time enabling them to offer a more relevant and higher quality education.

Website: www.teachamantofish.org.uk
Facebook: teachamantofish
Twitter: @TweetAManToFish

TEACH A MAN TO FISH
Unit F5, 89-93 Fonthill Road
Finsbury Park
London
N4 3JH

FOR MEDIA ENQUIRIES
Lindsey Crouch, Project Officer
lindsey@teachamantofish.org.uk
Outside the UK +44 7890 420 205
Within the UK 020 7263 2306

This release was published on openPR.