NIPR to extend Essay Competition to Secondary Schools

Blessing Nwobodo-

An authority at the Lagos State Chapter of the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR) says the State’s Annual PR Essay Competition for students in the state tertiary institution may soon be extended to the secondary institution.
Beauty Iwemah, Administrative Assistant, NIPR, Lagos State Chapter says plans are on the way to introduce the essay competition at secondary school level in the state. “We are looking at introducing the PR essay competition to students in the secondary schools. The challenge we will face is, having to go to the schools to give them intensive lectures on PR.”
According to her, the annual PR essay competition organized by the state chapter is a way of bringing to limelight the many functions of PR which the students are not aware of.  “Some of the students in the tertiary institutions are not aware that PR has got many functions. They see PR practitioners as glorified messengers which unfortunately is what obtains today in many corporate institutions.”  
The State NIPR chapter is currently calling on mass communication students in the tertiary institutions of Lagos State to participate in its 5th Annual PR Essay Competition. The topic for this year’s competition is: Is Nigeria’s quest to become one of the leading economies in the world by the year 2020 achievable or a mirage.