KINGSTON, Jamaica — Oil refinery company, Petrojam, has awarded four scholarships to this year’s top performers in the Primary Exit Profile (PEP) examinations at the Greenwich Primary and St Andrew Primary schools.

The two males and two females, who have each received a $60,000 annual scholarship and a brand-new laptop from the company, are St Andrew Primary’s Adrianna Whittingham, and Robert Reynolds, and Greenwich Primary’s Tasheka Williams and Javonne Wong.

The awards were handed out Thursday during a luncheon at the Jamaica Business Development Corporation (JBDC) Incubator and Resource Centre in Kingston.

Minister of Science, Energy and Technology, Daryl Vaz, in his remarks, congratulated the recipients and lauded the company for its continuation of the 16-year-old programme despite economic challenges.

He called on “able Jamaicans” to follow the example and contribute to the development of the nation’s youth, pointing out that, “There is no absence of bright youngsters and bright minds in Jamaica, what is absent for many is the financial resources to fund their educational ambitions.

“I therefore make an appeal for all corporate entities, government entities and individuals of means to consider mentoring and sponsoring the education of children,” Vaz charged.

The scholarships will cover tuition and other expenses of the students, while the laptops will support them technologically as they learn in the digital age. Each scholar will also be assigned a Petrojam Mentor, who will provide them with guidance throughout their tenure in the programme.

Petrojam General Manager, Winston Watson, noted that the company, which is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year, has shown, through the scholarship programme, that “we don’t just provide fuel; we have also been building the nation and touching lives through our corporate social responsibility”.

Guest speaker, Director of Bauxite Lands at the Jamaica Bauxite Institute and Prime Minister’s Youth Awardee, Kemoy Lindsay, encouraged the recipients to step outside of their comfort zones and push themselves to greater heights, especially as they enter the next leg of their educational journey.

During Thursday’s ceremony, sectional prizes were also handed out. St Andrew Primary’s Takura Williams was awarded for outstanding performance in Mathematics. Her schoolmates, Robert Reynolds, Darron Green and Nickell Kelly were awarded for their performances in Science. Receiving an award for performing well in Language Arts was Nickell Kelly.

Greenwich Primary’s top girl, Tasheka Williams, who will be attending Meadowbrook High School, received three sectional prizes for her outstanding performance in Science, Language Arts and Mathematics.

Williams delivered the reply on behalf of the recipients, expressing that, “Your investment has been placed on confident shoulders and we will not let you down. Your scholarships will open doors and play a key role in shaping us into successful persons for the future.”

Since 2006, Petrojam’s scholarship programme has supported some 49 students, 19 of whom are currently enrolled in the programme. It is an initiative of the company’s Community Outreach Committee and will support each student throughout their years of high school, up to sixth form.

The students are required to maintain a minimum B average, and a good record of discipline, attendance and punctuality are also considered.