Glenvista High among the 10 schools selected for the MPC Schools Challenge

Glenvista High is one of the 10 schools in Gauteng selected for the 2024 Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) Schools Challenge.

The school started participating in the competition in 2020 but unfortunately, they lost. The school participated again the following year where they came out as number one.

In 2023, the school got position number eight indicating the school’s dedication towards education.

The annual MPC Schools Challenge is the SARB’s flagship social investment programme, aimed at encouraging learners’ interest in economics and central banking professions by introducing them to monetary policy and its role in South Africans’ economic well-being.

Learners have the opportunity to win cash prizes for their schools, as well as prizes for educators and cash awards for themselves if they make it to the finals.

The best part of the competition is that the winning team will also be awarded the SARB bursary.

According to Mpela Lesaoana, Glenvista High economics teacher, the competition was open to all Grade 12 learners enrolled in pure mathematics and economics.

Each year, the school selects four learners to represent them in the competition and this year the school is represented by Nompilo Oha, Thembelihle Mbatha, Gugulethu Mkhonza, and Ntwanonhle Myeni.

“The learners were required to write an essay looking at the causes of inflation locally and globally and then decide whether they can increase, decrease, or leave the interest rate as it is.

“They had to support their decision with real issues like the war between Russia and Ukraine, Covid-19 pandemic, floods in KZN, and use other examples that affect economic growth,” said Mpela.

The learners will attend a workshop preparatory in Centurion on July 22. This will ensure that they are well prepared for the competition’s presentation stage on August 14.

The presentations are a simulation of the SARB’s MPC press conference, in which learners are questioned on their remarks and policy decisions.

According to Mpela, the challenge is highly beneficial to the learners since they receive the SARB bursary, and the competition teaches learners how to manage inflation and its causes, as well as the different types of inflation instruments that can be employed to combat inflation.

Mpela said: “We had learners who won the competition in 2021 and two other learners in 2023 who were funded by the SARB bursary.

This makes me proud as it indicates that I’m doing a good job. This is a national competition with more than 200 schools, so being in the top 10 shows how dedicated I am to my job.”