For over 13 years and counting, Nestlé Milo® through the President’s Independence Day Awards has continuously promoted Academic Excellence by recognising and rewarding hundreds of brilliant candidates for their performances in the Basic Education Certificate Examination, as well as other curricular activities.
As a brand that believes in diversity and inclusion, Nestlé in partnership with the Ministry of Education has remarkably raised the President’s Independence Day Award scheme a notch higher by recogniing four outstanding physicallychallenged students among 26 others – a boy and a girl each from the 10 regions of Ghana.
Each of the 30 students received attractive winning package including a Samsung Tablet, Cash Prize, Certificate signed by the President, and a one-year supply of Nestlé Products. Winners were also taken on a tour to the Nestlé Ghana Factory at the Tema Industrial Area.
President of the Republic of Ghana, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, in his remarks noted that education is key to the development and democratic growth of every country. He congratulated the awardees and urged them to keep up their performances. The President also commended Nestlé for its partnership with the Ministry of Education to promote academic excellence. “To Nestlé, sponsors of this event, we continue to be grateful for your care, concern and support for this initiative,” he said.
Speaking at the awards ceremony, Managing Director of Nestlé Ghana, Mrs. Freda Duplan acknowledged the company’s pride in promoting diversity and inclusion. “I am particularly excited about improvements in the award scheme this year, which promote inclusiveness and diversity through the recognition of four physically -hallenged students. At Nestlé our values are rooted in respect, and we believe in respect for diversity as it is key to nation building.”
Mrs. Duplan affirmed Nestlé’s commitment to continuously promote academic excellence. She commended the 30 awardees and urged them to work harder to attain greater heights. “Our purpose of enhancing quality of life and contributing to a healthier future begins with the child as the future of this nation, and largely depends on how we prepare our youth today. We are committed to this, as promoting academic excellence is one way we live our purpose,” she added.
By supporting the President’s Independence Day awards, Nestlé Milo® is contributing to attainment of the UN Sustainable Development Goal 4, which focuses on quality education. Nestlé Milo® supports other youth development initiatives in sports – such as the Milo under- 13 Champion’s League, which reaches over 20,000 schoolchildren with sporting activities across the country every year.
The President’s Independence Day awards were established in 1993. Since inception, the award scheme has provided scholarships each year to brilliant young students between the ages of 14 and 19 (a boy and a girl) from the ten regions of Ghana. A panel of experienced Educationists, School Management Committee (SMC) and District Assembly Representatives interviewed and selected best male and female students in each district. Shortlisted candidates from the 216 districts are interviewed at the regional level, leading to the selection of best students in the 10 regions.
