Accra, Aug. 18, GNA - Three hundred students from public junior secondary schools nationwide have been selected to participate in the first Coca-Cola Company National Essay Competition scheduled to take place in Accra on August 27.

The students were selected out of 5,000 entries that wrote an essay to the President of Ghana on indiscriminate disposal of plastics waste and suggested ways it could be controlled.

Under the supervision of the Ghana Education Service, the Company would host the students at Achimota Secondary School where they would be made to write another essay at a sitting within a time frame for the winners to be selected.

Speaking on Monday at a press briefing, Mr James Boateng, Marketing and Sales Manager of the Company, said the first prize is 10 million cedis.

The second prize is six million cedis, the third, four million cedis and fourth, two million cedis.

Fifty per cent of each prize would be used to purchase books to be donated to the schools of the respective winners.

Mr Boateng said the competition forms part of Coca-Cola's contribution to the improvement of writing and reading skills among the public schools and also making the youth more conscious of the need to take good care of the environment.

He said 350 million cedis has been earmarked towards accommodation and feeding of the students, logistics and administration of the competition.

Mr H. K. Ofori-Awuah, Chairman of the Planning and Organising Committee of the Competition, said English tutors from secondary schools would mark the essays.

He said apart from the four prizes, there would be 26 consolation prizes of half a million cedis each. 18 Aug. 3002