Nigeria and Ghana will compete as African representatives at the famed Scripps National Spelling Bee, which will take place in the United States in 2025, according to a non-governmental organization called the Young Educators Foundation.
This was revealed by the foundation’s chief executive officer, Eugenia Tachie-Menson, in a statement provided to reporters on Thursday in Abuja.
According to Tachie-Menson, Ghana has been the continent’s representative in the spelling bee for almost 20 years. The competition evaluated kids’ proficiency in both spelling and vocabulary.
She claimed that Nigeria’s inclusion in the representation was made possible by the foundation’s partnership with the Lucid Education Initiative in Nigeria.
“This collaboration aims to ignite a passion for spelling and literacy among Nigerian youths.
“The Scripps National Spelling Bee is more than a contest; it is a celebration of discipline, word mastery and academic excellence.
“Beyond giving Nigerian students and schools a global spotlight, it will boost cognitive skills, critical thinking, and mental agility in young learners.
“It will also spark curiosity and a lifelong love for language and learning.’’
According to her, the organization is now developing a student selection procedure for national competitions aimed at achieving worldwide presence.
The CEO went on to say that they had started selecting students from a few private institutions before moving on to public ones.
“The champion of this yet-to-be-unveiled spelling contest will earn a spot in the Scripps National Spelling Bee in Washington, D.C., in May 2025,” she said.
Afolajimi Akinyoyenu, the Chief Executive Officer of Lucid Education Initiative, stated that Nigeria’s involvement in the competition would underscore the significance of spelling and literacy instruction for young learners.
“This programme offers a platform for Nigerian youths to showcase their literacy prowess on a global stage.
“It will change the tired and erroneous narrative that the African child only hungers for food,” he said.
There were no less than 245 national contestants in the 2024 edition, representing schools in the United States, Europe, Ghana, Canada, and other countries.
With only 75 seconds for questions and 90 seconds for word spelling, the Scripps National Spelling Bee is an exciting mental test for spellers.
