All the prizes offered by the Press Complaints Commission of Sri Lanka at an all island essay competition it organized with the Ministry of Education were won by female students.

This competition, where the prize winners received awards from Mr. Sam Wijesinha, Chairman of the Disputes Resolution Council of the Press Complaints Commission, was organized in the context of media and information technology becoming a subject for the GCE Ordinary and Advance Level examinations.

The organizers said that the main aim of the competition was creating media awareness and the role of the Press Complaints Commission and topics for the essays included "Do you trust the media, and if so why and if not why?,’’ ``Are you satisfied with stories that appear in newspapers?’’, ``Is the media necessary for society?’’, and ``Will you select journalism as a profession and if so why?"

Cash prizes of Rs.5,000, Rs.4,000 and Rs.3,000 each to winners and runners-up in each of Sinhala, Tamil and English media were awarded.

The following contestants were the prize winners (in order of merit:

S.M. Sriyanganee Ariyaratna, Mahamaya Balika Vidyalaya, Kandy (Central Province),

R.M. Chathury Budhdhika Rathnayaka, Laxapana Madya Maha Vidyalaya, Laxapana (Central Province) and K. Nimmi Sanjeewanee, Wathupola Maha Vidyalaya, Pallawa (Wayamba)

Tamil A.N.F.Nijmiya, Baduriya Central Collage, Mawanella (Sabaragamuwa), M.I. Fathima Rikasa, Bakinigahawela Muslim Central Collage, Bibile (Uva) and M.A.F.Sumaiyya,

Almanar National School, Hendessa (Central Province)