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DPSI Aims To Improve On 2015 Performance In 9th Edition Of Spelling Bee Competition

By David Apinga
General News DPSI Aims To Improve On 2015 Performance In 9th Edition Of Spelling Bee Competition
OCT 1, 2015 LISTEN

Vishal Thakwani from the Delhi Public School International (DPSI) in Tema was ranked the 50th best speller globally out of over 11 million pupils worldwide who were scaled down to 285 for the final showpiece in Washington D.C. in 2015.

According to the Principal of the DPSI, Mr. David Raj, the school aims to make Ghana proud again in 2016 with an even better performance.

The Young Educators Foundation (YEF) has launched the 9th edition of the Spelling Bee competition with a proposal for educational reforms to include spelling in Ghana’s curricula.

The Spelling Bee is a literacy programme for primary children between 8 to 13 years with the objective of teaching students the proper and effective use of the English Language. Children compete in written vocabulary and oral spelling and the ultimate winner represents the country at the Scripps Spelling Bee, USA.

Ghana is the only African country which participates at the global level but the coordinators of the Spelling Bee have revealed plans to extend to Nigeria, Namibia and Kenya in subsequent years.

In her address during the launch, the Country Director for YEF, Mrs. Eugenia Tachie-Menson outlined some challenges that have hampered the progress of the spelling bee citing apathy on the part of parents and educators.

The Spelling Bee has been labelled as a non-academic exercise which is not examinable but Mrs. Tachie-Menson states that spelling has been proven to develop the intellectual abilities of children as they learn through fun activities.

“We had rejections from some heads of schools and parents usually bordering on the argument that the Spelling Bee is not an academic exercise. Some even opine that it is not on its own an examinable subject by WAEC I guess”.

She further added that, “Spelling has an element of fun as a way of getting children to be interested in reading whiles broadening their vocabulary base. The kids also learn life skills such as confidence and critical thinking which are not taught in the class room,” she emphasized.

The YEF Director explained that Spelling is a co-curricular activity and must be added to academic work to compliment learning in the classroom.

She used the platform to appeal for sponsorships in order to expand the operations of YEF in championing the cause of education in Ghana.

As he shared his experiences with the guests, Vishal noted that he wasn’t discouraged as he couldn’t win the Ghana National Spelling Bee in his first year of participation but relentlessly worked hard till he was champion in the third year.

He said he learnt a lot from other spellers from different countries during the global round in USA.

He used the opportunity to advise his colleagues who will be participating this year to always remain calm and be curious. He advised spellers to be happy for all that they have learnt and never be discouraged if they don’t reach the finals.

To him, it was an honour to represent his school and Ghana as he advised other spellers to appreciate and utilize the opportunity to also network with other kids from different countries.

The advent of social media has affected students with most examiners lamenting on poor spelling abilities and the use of shortcuts during Basic Education Certificate Examinations (BECE).

Most of the guests for the occasion admitted that introduction of Spelling Bee can solve the problem of poor vocabulary.

The regional competition of the Spelling Bee is scheduled for October after which the finals will be held in Accra in February 2016. The Champion will travel to Washington DC in May, 2016 for the 89th edition of the Scripps Spelling Bee.

The Spelling Bee is sponsored by Indomie, Voltic, Muscatella, Rufus, United States Peace Corps, Ecobank Junior Saver, Citi FM, Joy FM, DSTV and endorsed by the Ghana Education Service.

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