PENGASSAN ESSAY COMPETITION 2024
…stimulating, encouraging and social responsibility initiative of the Petroleum & Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria
| Categories | First Prize | Second Prize | Third Prize | Consolation Prizes ((4th - 6th positions) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| JS 1 | ₦ 1,000,000 | ₦ 750,000 | ₦ 500,000 | ₦ 150k each |
| SS 1 | ₦ 1,500,000 | ₦ 1,000,000 | ₦ 750,000 | ₦150k each |
About the Competition
The PENGASSAN National Essay Competition is a stimulating, encouraging and social responsibility initiative of the Petroleum & Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) to drive the development of creative writing amongst secondary school students in Nigeria. It is billed to generate interest in writing amongst secondary school students at a time when many are being dissuaded from academic and writing proficiency. It is a strategic initiative to drive creativity, deep reflective and critical thinking, and increase their ability to leverage yet unexplored areas of our day-to-day life.
Through this competition, PENGASSAN seeks to achieve the following:
- Inspire a new set of teen leaders who would go on to dominate the world stage.
- To build and inspire a network of global excellence-driven leaders, creating in them a sense of patriotism
- To foster and promote national peace and unity by providing a platform for social and racial integration among the students
- To promote genuine leadership qualities among the youths and educating them on how these qualities impart on national and global development;
- To provide a platform for talented youths to explore opportunities that life presents:
- To provide adequate information on their roles, and how true leadership is an integral component of national (educational) development;
- To create an awareness of moral standards and practices among the students in order to redefine the values and norms of the society;
- To educate the students on school policies, governance and administration;
- Celebrating excellence in the students, instilling into them the spirit of healthy competitiveness, and inculcating in their minds the right attitude to learning;
- To raise youths that are full of life, passion, and enthusiasm to follow through their dreams and visions for life;
- And ultimately building a better and great future for the youths.
Essay Topics
Junior Category: Exploring Nigeria’s Energy Mix: How Different Energy Sources can Shape our Future.
Senior Category: The Future of Nigeria’s Oil and and Gas Industry: Balancing Traditional and Renewable Energy Sources.
Application Process
The competition will be entirely online. Beginning with the first stage of the competition, all interested participants are required to register and submit entries on the website www.pengassannationalessaycompetition.com and click on the register icon. Registration and submission will take place simultaneously. Registration and submission must not exceed stated end date as website will cease to accept submissions afterwards.
Application via the website visit www.pengassannationalessaycompetition.com
- Click on register and fill the form
- Upload a means of identification like School ID, or Testimonial or admission letter or Result of previous class
- Upload essay (could be handwritten or typed)
- Submit
- Check your email (including your spam) after two weeks to know if you qualify for the second stage
Rules & Regulations
Kindly find below more details and mode of entry:
- A call for entry will be announced Monday 22nd July, 2024 which will take 2 weeks.
- Submission deadline will be August 5, 2024; marking commences immediately from 5th August, 2024.
- All entries will be sent online to pengassanessaycompetition@gmail.com via the registration link on the website.
- The judges will then pick the top 100 best essays that will qualify for the second stage.
- The top 20 candidates will be shortlisted for the final stage where they will be subjected to the final essay writing, thereafter there will be a live interaction with the 20 shortlisted essays by the judges. This interaction is for the judges to ascertain the authenticity of the essays before selecting the top 6 winners.
- Announcement of the winners will be on Thursday 22nd August, 2024
- Winners will be presented their gifts at the PENGASSAN Energy and Labour Summit Dinner taking place at Congress Hall, Transcorp Hilton Hotel Abuja.
- Only the three winners in each category with a parent will be sponsored to come to Abuja to receive the prizes.
Eligibility and Guidelines
Both categories will be allotted different topics to write upon. Interested participants must be a JSS 1 or SSS1 by the start date of the new 2023/2024 academic session.
- No entry fee is required
- The competition is strictly for senior secondary school students in the 36 states and the FCT, in Nigeria
- All entries must be original works, in English. Each entrant may submit only one essay
- All entries are final. No revisions are accepted.
- Entries should not have been previously published in professional media
- Entries must be from 400 to 800 words in length for SS1 and from 200 to 400 for JSS1
- All entries must be double spaced in Times New Roman 12pt, with numbered pages in one of the following formats – MS Word and Word Perfect. All other formats will be disqualified.
- Essays will be judged based on: Clarity of Expression, Spelling and Grammar, Originality of thought, Depth of Analysis, Relevance to Industry, and Conformity to Competition Rules.
- All essays will be subjected to plagiarism check (software application) to determine originality. Plagiarism and off-topic material will result in disqualification.
Participants are expected to reside in one of the 36 states or the Federal Capital of Nigeria. Thus, the essay will be open to participants from every state in each geopolitical zone.
Overseas participation is not permitted.