50 Students for Finals of 2016 Spelling Bee Contest

Funmi Ogundare

A total of 50 students representing schools from the nine participating states across the country, have advanced to the national finals of this year’s Spelling Bee Nigeria Competition, aimed at inculcating effective communication, improved spelling skills, poise development, and accurate word usage among secondary school students.

This year’s edition, organised by Young Educators Foundation, an NGO that promotes literacy and education, and franchise holders of Scripps National Spelling Bee, USA, began with the training the trainers sessions in Abuja and Lagos, where Scripps certified linguistic professionals took teachers through an intensive three-day training.

The Programme Director, Mr. AkinleyeOlu-Philips, said the competition is targeted at students between eight to 13 years, adding that Pearson Education would be the official dictionary of the Spelling Bee Nigeria.

“This year’s edition began with the training-the-trainers session at two venues, Lagos and Abuja, where Scripps certified linguistic professionals took teachers though an intensive three-day training. The participants will arrive Lagos for the three-day camp with their chaperones on April 20.”

He said the winner would get an all-expenses paid trip to the 89th Scripps National Spelling Bee in Washington DC, USA as a guest, and a scholarship fund, while the first runner-up would also get an all-expenses paid trip to Pearson Publishing House, Harlow, UK and a scholarship fund.

“We are committed to the development of education and reading culture in Nigeria,” Olu-Philips said.
The grand finale of the competition will hold on April 22, at The NECA Hall, Alausa, Ikeja.