Terms and Conditions


The strategic partners of this competition are: ELS Language Centres, Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM), Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM), Sunago Education Sdn Bhd, and Just English Sdn Bhd (“Organiser”). This competition, a nation-building CSR initiative is open to Form 4 and Form 5 students who are currently enrolled in Malaysian Government secondary schools.

PRIZES:

    • All prizes are given “as is” basis and are not transferable, nor exchangeable for cash or in-kind whether in part or in full.
    • Grand Prize includes return economy class tickets from Kuala Lumpur International Airport. Cost of travel documents, including passport and visa, personal insurance, travelling cost and other expenses outside those provided by the Organiser will be borne by the winner.
    • Travel dates for the Grand Champion will be decided by the Organiser. In the event the Grand Champion winner and/or accompanying parent or official guardian are unable to travel as scheduled and/or not eligible for passport or visa due to any reason whatsoever, the winner will be disqualified and the prize forfeited. No refund, rescheduling or compensation will be made if Grand Champion winner and/or accompanying parent or official guardian are unable to travel as scheduled for any reason.
    • Winners are required to attend a prize giving ceremony, of which the date, time and venue will be notified by the Organiser. All transportation, accommodation, personal expenses and/or other costs and/expenses incurred in relation to attending the prize-giving ceremony shall be the sole responsibility of the winners. In the event the winners are not able to attend the prize giving ceremony, the winners must nominate a representative to be present at the prize giving ceremony to accept the prize on his/her behalf and pre-notify the Organiser accordingly.

CONSENT:

    • By participating in this competition, participants consent to give their personal information and the Organiser reserves the right to publish, use the winners’ names and/or photographs plus their entries for purposes of publicity, advertising and/or trade without further compensation or notice and each participant is not entitled to make any claims for the use of their entries by the Organiser.
    • Uses of personal data received by the Organiser in the course of the competition are subject to current Malaysian data protection legislation.
    • The Organiser reserves the absolute right at any time, without assigning any reasons to amend, delete and/or add to these Terms and Conditions without any prior notice at any time and the participants shall be bound to such changes.

ESSAY ENTRIES:

    • Only one entry per person will be accepted.
    • The deadline for receiving entries for the competition is final. No entries received after the given date will be considered. The Organiser does not accept any responsibility for late or lost entries due to the Internet. Proof of sending is not proof of receipt. No responsibility is accepted for ineligible entries or entries made fraudulently.
    • Organiser’s decision is final. Any correspondence pertaining to the decision made by the Organiser will not be entertained.
    • If due to circumstances beyond the Organiser’s control, the Organiser is unable to provide the stated prizes or any part thereof, the Organiser reserves the right to substitute the prize with an item of equal value, to be determined at the Organiser’s sole discretion.

CANCELLATIONS:

  • The Organiser reserves the right to cancel this competition at any stage, if deemed necessary in its opinion, and if circumstances arise outside of its control.
  • The winners shall assume full liability in the case of any mishap, injury, damage, claim or accidents resulting from their participation in the competition and/or redemption of the prizes.
  • Entries and participants who fail to meet any of the following requirements will be disqualified:
      1. Students must be currently enrolled in Form 4 or Form 5 in a Malaysian government school. Students enrolled in Form 6, matriculation programmes, private or independent funded schools, or private or public colleges or universities are NOT eligible.
      2. Students must also be Malaysians aged between 16 and 18 years old in the year 2024, and have a valid National Registration Identity Card.
      3. Students and appointed school representatives must have a valid and working email address to participate in this competition.
      4. Employees of ELS Language Centres Sdn. Bhd., Sunago Education Sdn. Bhd., Just English Sdn. Bhd., and their immediate family members are not eligible to participate.
      5. All participants must be registered at https://elsaward.els.edu.my/ and complete all 15 lessons with a general average grade of at least 70% prescribed in the Online Writing programme during the period of 4th June to 30th August 2024, 2:00 pm (now extended till 23rd September 2024, 2:00 pm).
      6. Entries must be written in British English.
      7. Only entries submitted via the online submission form (requires login) will be accepted. Entries submitted via email, fax, postal mail, or any other means will NOT be entertained.
      8. Participants who submit plagiarised works will be disqualified. Plagiarism is “an act or instance of using or closely imitating the language and thoughts of another author without authorization and the representation of that author’s work as one’s own, as by not crediting the original author” (Definition by dictionary.com). 
      9. The final copy submitted for the competition must be the participant’s own work, and cannot be corrected or improved by another person.
      10. All essays must be written with a minimum of 500 words and a maximum of 700 words. Not meeting the minimum word count or exceeding the maximum word count will result in automatic disqualification.
      11. Essays can only be uploaded in either Word (*.doc, .docx) or Rich Text Format (*.rtf) file format.
      12. Submission of entries must be BEFORE 3:00 pm (Malaysian time, +8:00 GMT time zone) on 30th August 2024 (now extended till 23rd September 2024, 3:00 pm). Any submission after the deadline will immediately be disqualified.

By participating in this competition, participants agree to be bound by the official Terms and Conditions and decisions of the Organiser.