Accra, Nov. 17, GNA - Papaye Fast Foods Limited would from next academic year award scholarships to four needy but poor students that would take them from basic school to the tertiary level.

Those to benefit would be from selected schools in the Accra-Tema Metropolis and the award would be based on the students' performance at the next year's Basic Education Certificate Examinations (BECE). Mr Samir Kamoni, Founder and Executive Chairman of Papaye, said this in Accra on Thursday when Papaye presented certificates of excellence, stationery, T-shirts and abridged version of Ghana's Constitution worth over 100 million cedis to 600 brilliant pupils in 30 selected schools in Accra and feted them.

This year's awards day dubbed: "Papaye Excellence Awards-Our Day Special" is to reward pupils, who excelled in academics and to encourage them to develop their creative skills and talents. Some of the beneficiary schools were Victory International, Garrison Preparatory, Saint Anthony International, Soul International and Gbebgesie Primary.

Mr Kamoni noted that Ghana abounded in talents, which must be tapped and there was the need to encourage the youth to aspire to reach the highest rungs of the educational ladder, "thus our contribution in helping the nation to attain its goals of human resource development". He stressed that Papaye was not only into business to maximise profit "but to give back to society a share of our earnings as our social responsibility through such programmes".

Mr Kamoni entreated the children to be law-abiding, respect the elderly and abstain from pre-marital sex.

"The HIV/AIDS menace is on the rise and if you do not take good care of yourselves, your career will end abruptly," he said. Mr Divine Asiedu, Acting Managing Director of Papaye Fast Foods Limited, said the excellence awards scheme was instituted eight years ago and had since been an annual affair. Three best pupils of each class from Class One to Junior Secondary School Class Three in each of the schools is awarded.

"The award is to assist the youth nurture and imbibe a sense of perfection and excellence in their endeavours and it is through this that the attainment of higher laurels would be a forgone conclusion and their future secured."

He urged parents to give their children the chance to struggle to gain strength to face the challenges of life or else they would end up hurting them through pampering.

Mrs Angelina Baiden-Amissah, Deputy Minister of Education In-charge of Basic and Teacher Education, commended Papaye for their response to the clarion call of the Government for private sector participation in education and urged them to continue to promote education, which was the key to success.