TERMS AND CONDITIONS FOR MTN MPULSE SPELLING BEE 2025

1. Definitions
   The following terms shall have the specific meanings assigned to them in these “Terms and Conditions”:
   1. "Competition" means the nation-wide spelling bee competition on the mPulse website dubbed "MTN mPulse Spelling Bee" organized by MTN Nigeria Communications PLC ("MTN").
   2. "Competition Website" means the mPulse website(https://mpulse.mtn.ng/) where participants are required to follow the instructions on the Competition announcement page in order to participate in the MTN mPulse Spelling Bee Competition.
   3. "Entrant/Contestant" means the child/ward of a Parent who has agreed to these Terms and Conditions on behalf of the Entrant/Contestant and whose Parent has submitted an entry (on behalf of the Entrant/Contestant) in accordance with the rules and instructions as displayed on the Competition Website.
   4. "First Entry Period/First Round" refers to the duration of the first stage of the Competition, which will run from the period of 4th August 2025 to 5th October 2025 and during this time interested individuals would be allowed to sign up for the Competition.
   5. “Parent/Guardian” or “You” refers to the adult (aged 18 or above) who is either the biological parent, adoptive parent, or the officially appointed legal guardian of a Contestant, and who possesses the legal capacity to provide consent for the Contestant's participation in the Competition.
   6. "Second Entry Period/Second Round" refers to the duration of the second stage of the competition which will run from 13th October 2025 to 19th October 2025. This stage will be divided into 6 geopolitical regions in Nigeria as split by MTN and will only be open to Entrants who have successfully passed through the First Round and have been invited to proceed to this stage of the Competition via their unique user ID on the Competition website.
   7. "Terms and Conditions" mean these Terms and Conditions, including all the annexes and amendments thereof.
   8. Winners” means the Contestant who emerge as winners of the MTN mPulse Spelling Bee Competition selected after the completion of the three (3) rounds of the Competition and after verification and validation by MTN.
2. Eligibility
   1. The Competition is open to only students (both boys and girls) in primary and secondary schools (public and private) within the territory of the Federal Republic of Nigeria who are between the ages of Nine (9) and Fifteen (15) years old.
   2. All Entrants must not be more than fifteen (15) years of age at the start of the Competition which shall begin on 4th of August, 2025.
   3. You confirm that the Contestant is eligible to do so and also eligible to claim any prize that may be won. MTN reserves the right to carry out age or identity verification checks at any point, may reject participation if documentation is incomplete, fraudulent, or unverifiable.
   4. MTN may require a Parent, at various stages of the Competition, to provide proof that the Contestant is eligible to enter the Competition. Falsification of documents or misrepresentation will lead to automatic disqualification and may be reported to relevant authorities.
   5. Only one entry per Parent for a Contestant is permitted. Entries via third parties and automated entries are not permitted.
   6. All applications are free and not on sale.
   7. The Entrant must not have previously been declared a champion or runner-up of any mPulse spelling bee competition and/or any MTN sponsored spelling bee competition across the nation.
   8. Entries not submitted in accordance with these Terms and Conditions and all other rules and directions as given by MTN, or entries that are incomplete or illegible (as determined in MTN’s sole discretion) will not be eligible.
   9. MTN reserves the right to disqualify prior to or during the Competition any Entrant who is not in compliance with any of the eligibility requirements of Clause 2 (Eligibility). MTN may, at its discretion or at any time between the conclusion of the Competition and 31st December 2025, require any Entrant who is found to have not been in compliance with any of the Eligibility requirements to forfeit any prizes, rank and other benefits accorded to that Entrant as a result of participation in the Competition.
3. The Competition
   1. The Competition shall comprise of four (4) rounds. The First Round and the Second Round which will be held online on the Competition Website, while the regional competition and Grand finale will be held physically in Nigeria.
   2. A Parent can register the Contestant for the First round of the Competition via the Competition Website (mpulse.mtn.ng) during the First Round Period.
   3. All Contestants are required to register as students on the Competition Website to participate in the Competition.
   4. The Parent/Guardian’s phone number with which each Contestant registers on the Competition website must be on the mPulse tariff plan in order for a Contestant to win any of the prizes in the Competition.
   5. You will be required to update and complete the Contestant’s student profile (including profile picture, correct email, state of participation, name of their school) and link their phone numbers with that of their parents in order to participate in the Competition. Outdated or incomplete student profile can lead to instant disqualification from the Competition.
   6. By consenting that your child/ward participate in the Competition, You hereby affirm that You consent to and/or sign these Terms and Conditions on behalf of your child/ward. Parents/Guardian shall also provide to MTN at the time of submitting an entry, the duly signed MTN Parental Release Agreement for the Contestants and any additional document(s) as required by MTN at the different levels of participation in the Competition.
   7. Each Contestant will be required to spell ten (10) words for the First Round of the Competition.
   8. Entries received after the close of the First Round Period shall not be eligible for consideration for participation in any part of the Competition since they were not submitted within the time prescribed under this Terms and Conditions and published on the Competition Website.
   9. The first 500 (Five hundred) Contestants from each of the 6 regions cutting across the various states (making a total of 3000 participants) with the highest scores from the First Round shall be invited to participate in the Second Round of the Competition.
   10. Only Contestants invited for the Second Round of the Competition (identified via their unique user ID on the Competition Website) will be able to access the portal during the Second Round period.
   11. Pictures of Contestants will be taken at intervals via the Contestant's device camera when participating in the Competition. By entering the Competition. You agree, on behalf of the Contestant to have the Contestant’s picture taken and be used for later verification and any other purpose(s) stated in this Terms and Conditions. Where You do not consent, please do not file an entry or permit your child/ward to enter this Competition.
   12. The Top 10 participants from each of the regions will participate in the physical regional competition happening in Ibadan, Abuja and Enugu.
   13. The Top 10 participants from the Lagos region and top 10 from the West region will compete physically in Ibadan and produce 7 finalists that will participate in the Grand-finale.
   14. The Top 10 participants from North-East region and top 10 from the North - West will compete physically in Abuja and produce 6 finalists that will participate in the Grand-finale.
   15. The Top 10 participants from the East region and top 10 from the Southern region will compete physically in Enugu and produce 7 finalists that will participate in the Grand-finale.
   16. The top 20 (Twenty) verified Contestants from all the physical regionals of the Competition shall be eligible for the grand finale of the contest; verification of all the rounds is solely at the discretion of MTN.
   17. MTN via its designated personnel may ask You to provide documentary proof of the Contestant’s identity and/or address and/or school before confirmation of eligibility for the next round or the Grand Finale. The use of any false information (name, address, school, picture, principal's name and contact number, teacher's name and contact number, parent's name and contact number, etc.) will disqualify a Contestant from further participating in the Competition or receiving any prize.
4. Online Entry (First and Second Rounds)
   1. The First Round of the Competition begins on 4th August 2025 and ends on 5th October 2025. After this date, no further entries for the Competition will be permitted.
   2. All entries for the First Round of the Competition must be received latest by 11:59pm on 5th October 2025. Only entries that are duly received by MTN before the closing time will be eligible for consideration for participation in the Competition.
   3. The first 500 (Five hundred) Contestants from each of the 6 regions cutting across the various states (making a total of 3000 participants) with the highest scores from the First Round shall be invited to participate in the Second Round of the Competition.
   4. Only Contestants invited for the Second Round of the Competition (identified via their unique user Identification number (ID) on the Competition Website) will be able to access the portal during the Second Round period.
   5. The Second Round of the Competition shall begin on 13th October 2025 and end on 19th October 2025. All entries for the Second Round of the Competition must be received latest by 11:59 pm on 19th October 2025. Only entries that are duly received by MTN before the closing time will be eligible for consideration for continued participation in the Competition.
   6. Each Parent hereby warrants that all information provided during registration is true, accurate, and complete.
   7. MTN shall not be liable for entries that are lost, delayed or damaged and proof of sending an entry is not proof that MTN received it.
   8. Entries must be submitted only through the designated section on the Competition Website. MTN shall not be liable for your inability to verify incomplete or inaccurate information.
   9. MTN will not be liable for any liability arising from non-compliance with these Terms and Conditions and Entrants agree to indemnify MTN against any claim by any third party from any breach of these Terms and Conditions by the Entrants.
   10. Entries must not contain defamatory, obscene, offensive, or any other unsuitable material; MTN reserves the right to disqualify entries containing such content.
5. Regional Competition (On ground)
   1. Verified top 10 (Ten) Contestants from each of the regions shall compete in the regional competitions. i.e. selected top 10 contestants from Round 2 of each of the regions shall be eligible to participate in the Grand Finale
   2. By entering this Competition, You agree to make the Contestant available if invited to the Grand Finale and no replacement shall be considered. This shall hold on ground in Nigeria across 3 regions, which are Ibadan, Abuja and Enugu with all the Contestants present at their mapped locations depending on the region they represent.
   3. The Top 10 contestants from each of the regions will participate in the physical regional competition happening in Ibadan, Abuja and Enugu.
   4. The Top 10 contestants from the Lagos region and top 10 from the West region will compete physically in Ibadan and produce 7 finalists that will participate in the Grand-finale.
   5. The Top 10 contestants from North-East region and top 10 from the North - West will compete physically in Abuja and produce 6 finalists that will participate in the Grand-finale.
   6. The Top 10 contestants from the East region and top 10 from the Southern region will compete physically in Enugu and produce 7 finalists that will participate in the Grand-finale.
   7. The top 20 (twenty) verified Contestants from all the regional competitions shall be eligible for the grand finale of the contest; verification of all the rounds is solely at the discretion of MTN.
   8. The Competition will be conducted orally; Contestants must spell the words orally and the use of pens and/or pencils and paper will not be allowed.
   9. Contestants must pronounce their words before spelling them and after spelling them.
   10. Once a Contestant has begun to spell a word, he or she may not ask for a word to be re-pronounced, defined or used in a sentence. Also, having started to spell a word, a Contestant will not be given any opportunity to change letters already pronounced. A Contestant may retrace provided the letters and their sequence are not changed in retracing. Apostrophes and other punctuation are not required.
   11. If a word taken is unclear to a Contestant, he or she may ask for the word to be re-pronounced, or request to be given a definition or a sentence, provided that such requests are made within the stipulated time frame as communicated to the Contestant by the Competition officials. In the instance that the word to be spelt is a homophone, the Contestant must give the spelling of the word as defined, not a homophone of the word.
   12. If a word has more than one acceptable spelling, all spellings of that word in the English Oxford Dictionary will be accepted.
   13. Officials may disqualify any Contestant who ignores a request to start spelling his or her word within a reasonable length of time. Also, a Contestant whose spelling of a word is not audible to the officials may have his or her spelling ruled incorrect.
   14. When a Contestant mis-spells a word, the Contestant will be eliminated from the Competition except for some reason like when there is a draw in position, but no other Contestant will be allowed to spell the same word.
   15. During the Grand Finale, apart from the official break periods, every Contestant must be seated with face (and hands) visible throughout the period they are active in the Competition. Any breach of this will lead to instant disqualification from the Competition.
   16. A Contestant will be given a particular time frame to spell the required word and will get disqualified if unable to spell the word or complete the spelling within the stipulated time frame.
   17. All travel, accommodation, and logistical costs related to participation in the regional rounds shall be borne solely by the You.
6. Grand Finale (On ground)
   1. Verified top 20 (twenty) Contestants i.e. selected regional contestants from the regional competition shall be eligible to participate in the Grand Finale.
   2. By entering this Competition, you agree to be available if invited for the Grand Finale and no replacement shall be considered. This shall hold on ground in Lagos Nigeria with all the Contestants present.
   3. The Competition will be conducted orally; Contestants must spell the words orally and the use of pens and/or pencils and paper will not be allowed.
   4. Contestants must pronounce their words before spelling them and after spelling them.
   5. Once a Contestant has begun to spell a word, he or she may not ask for a word to be re-pronounced, defined or used in a sentence. Also, having started to spell a word, a Contestant will not be given any opportunity to change letters already pronounced. A Contestant may retrace provided the letters and their sequence are not changed in retracing. Apostrophes and other punctuation are not required.
   6. If a word taken is unclear to a Contestant, he or she may ask for the word to be re-pronounced, or request to be given a definition or a sentence, provided that such requests are made within the stipulated time frame as communicated to the Contestant by the Competition officials. In the instance that the word to be spelt is a homophone, the Contestant must give the spelling of the word as defined, not a homophone of the word.
   7. If a word has more than one acceptable spelling, all spellings of that word in the English Oxford Dictionary will be accepted.
   8. Officials may disqualify any Contestant who ignores a request to start spelling his or her word within a reasonable length of time. Also, a Contestant whose spelling of a word is not audible to the officials may have his or her spelling ruled incorrect.
   9. When a Contestant mis-spells a word, the Contestant will be eliminated from the Competition except for some reason like when there is a draw but no other Contestant will be allowed to spell the same word.
   10. During the Grand Finale, apart from the official break periods, every Contestant must be seated with face (and hands) visible throughout the period they are active in the Competition. Any breach of this will lead to instant disqualification from the Competition.
   11. A Contestant will be given a particular time frame to spell the required word and will get disqualified if unable to spell the word or complete the spelling within the stipulated time frame.
7. The Prizes
   1. The prize(s) for the Winners depending on the Contestant’s position will include scholarship grant, winner’s trophy, laptop, smartphone, mPulse goody bag which may include: mPulse school bag , mPulse hand fan, etc.
   2. Every Winner will be required to collect their prize(s) at the Grand Finale or at such location as maybe communicated by MTN for the Winners to pick up their prize(s).
   3. Winners shall be solely responsible for picking up prizes won and all incidental costs thereto. Failure to collect the prize within 30 (Thirty) days of notification shall result in forfeiture
   4. Winners will be required to have their pictures or videos taken and these pictures/videos will be published online. By entering for this Competition, You agree on behalf of the Contestant to have the Contestant pictures/videos taken and published by MTN or any of its third-party partners in promotional materials and broadcasts without further compensation or notice.
8. Intellectual Property Rights
   1. By accepting the Terms and Conditions, You hereby agree and consent on behalf of the Contestant that the Contestant’s images and all content they feature in shall be used on all MTN social media, any social media platform and traditional media channels (Publicity and post event leveraging) without further notice, compensation, consideration, review, or consent, and without regard to moral rights.
   2. Additionally, You, on behalf of the Contestant hereby grant MTN a non-exclusive, perpetual, worldwide, royalty-free license to use any image, video, or content featuring the Contestant in connection with the Competition for publicity, archival, or educational purposes and hereby indemnify and hold MTN harmless against any claim, loss or liability, howsoever arising in connection with the foregoing ; MTN and any other MTN product or contest name are trademarks of MTN and Contestants/Entrants shall not be entitled to reproduce such marks (other than to the extent required for personal use of the Contestants) without MTN's prior written consent.
   3. You also understand and agree that on behalf of the Contestants You waive all claims to any intellectual property rights, image rights, or any other rights that the Contestant may be entitled to for any use of his/her still or motion images by MTN in any media and neither You nor the Contestant shall institute any action against MTN for such use.
9. Confidentiality of Contestants information
   1. MTN may use any personal information that was provided in the course of submitting an entry for the purposes of the Contest, in the ways described in these Terms and Conditions, and for any marketing or other purposes in accordance with MTN's privacy policy at https://www.mtn.ng/legal/privacy-and-data-protection-policy/, the Nigerian Data Protection Act and any other
   2. MTN may also share your details with its service providers and agents for the purposes of auditing, verification of results and providing prizes on its behalf, and any sponsors or partners involved in this Contest.
   3. For more information, further questions or concerns on our privacy policy and how we manage your data, please refer to MTN's privacy policy at https://www.mtn.ng/legal/privacy-and-data-protection-policy/ or contact us by email at mtn.mpulse@mtn.com.
10. Limitation of Liability
    1. You agree that MTN shall not be liable for any loss or damage whatsoever which is suffered (including but not limited to indirect or consequential loss) or for any personal injury, loss or damage suffered or sustained (even caused by negligence) in connection with accepting or using a prize or participating in this Competition.
    2. By participating in the Competition, You agree that:
       1. Any and all disputes, claims, and causes of action arising out of or in connection with the Competition, shall be resolved individually without resort to any form of class action, and resolution shall be in accordance with the dispute resolution provisions contained in this Terms and Conditions;
       2. Any claims, judgments and awards shall be limited to costs associated with participating in the Competition only, and shall in no event include attorneys' fees;
       3. To waive all rights to claim punitive, incidental or consequential damages and any and all rights to have damages multiplied or otherwise increased and any other damages, other than damages for actual costs associated with participating in the Contest.
       4. MTN assumes no responsibility for any error, omission, interruption, deletion, defect, or delay in operation or transmission, communications line failure, or theft, destruction of, alteration or unauthorized access to the Competition.
    3. You assume full responsibility for the Contestant’s participation in the Competition and agree to indemnify and hold MTN harmless from any liability arising from such participation.
11. Dispute Resolution
    1. In the event of a dispute or difference between the Entrant and MTN (the “Parties”) in connection with or in relation to this Terms and Conditions or its performance, construction or interpretation, the party alleging the dispute shall provide a written notice, giving particulars of the dispute (the “Notice of Dispute”) to the other Party. The Parties each agree to cause their respective representatives to meet as soon as possible, in an effort to resolve the dispute amicably, in good faith and with absolute fair play. All such representatives of the Parties shall be referred to as 'Settlement Nominees' and the period agreed on for such discussion shall be referred to as "Period of Discussion".
    2. If the dispute is not resolved by formal negotiation as stated in Clause 10.1 within fourteen (14) business days of the Notice of Dispute, the dispute shall be referred to mediation. The mediation shall be conducted by a CEDR UK accredited mediator or any other equivalent accredited mediator to be appointed by the Parties. The Lagos Multi Door Court House Model Procedure Rules 2007 shall apply. For the avoidance of doubt, the Parties shall proceed to litigation as stated in clause 10.3 where: (a) the Parties are unable to agree on the appointment of a mediator within one (1) month; or (b) the mediation proceedings are terminated by either Party or the accredited mediator.
    3. If the dispute is still not resolved after fourteen (14) business days of its being referred to mediation as specified in Clause 10.2, each party irrevocably agrees that the dispute shall be finally resolved by a Nigerian court of competent jurisdiction which shall have exclusive jurisdiction to settle any dispute or claim (including non-contractual disputes or claims) arising out of or in connection with this Agreement, its subject matter or formation.
12. General
    1. To complete their entry, all Contestants shall submit the "MTN Parental Release Agreement for all Contestants," bearing the required parental signature, to MTN at the point of entry. MTN shall not be liable for any damage, loss or disappointment suffered by any person taking part or not being able to take part in this Competition, or from being unable to claim their prize.
    2. Insofar as is permitted by law, MTN, its agents or distributors will not in any circumstances be responsible or liable to compensate the Winner or accept any liability for any loss, damage, personal injury or death occurring as a result of taking up a prize except where it is caused by the negligence of MTN, its agents or distributors or that of their employees. The statutory rights of the Contestants are not affected.
    3. In the event of unforeseen circumstances or at its own discretion, MTN may alter, amend or foreclose the Competition without prior notice and without any obligation to You, the Contestant or any person. MTN reserves the right to change the provisions of these Terms and Conditions at any time without notice.
    4. By participating in or continuing to participate in this Competition, Entrants will be deemed to have accepted these and any varied terms and conditions which will be posted on the Competition Website.
    5. These terms are governed by Nigerian law and You are bound by/and submit to the jurisdiction of the Nigerian courts.

By the participation of my child/ward in this Competition, I, the Parent/Guardian, agree to be bound by these Terms and Conditions and confirm that my child/ward meet all eligibility requirements listed herein. I further agree that the decisions of MTN are final and binding on all matters pertaining to this Competition.Name of the Parent/Guardian to the Entrant/Participant:

Name of the Entrant:
Date:
Signature:
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