Principal education officer at Standard and Quality Assurance Directorate, Mrs Ida Njie-Touray said the event was “in line with the Ministry of Education’s development agenda of improving the quality of education in our schools. Spelling Bee Competition, thought to have originated in the United States is today held in many countries all over the world, The Gambia being no exception”.
She revealed that in 2010/2011 academic year, a Spelling Bee Competition, was organised for senior secondary schools in the country and won by Nusrat Senior Secondary School.
She maintained: “The importance of spelling by forming words correctly from individual letters cannot be overemphasised. It helps lay the basic foundation that students will need throughout their education and life. Learning to spell helps cement the connection between the letters and their sounds, and the more deeply and thoroughly a student knows a word, the more likely he or she will recognise it, spell it, define it, and use it appropriately in speech and writing. You will agree with me that spelling is indeed a problem in The Gambia. When one looks around; on billboards, walls, vans even on newspapers one is likely to spot some misspelt words. Although this can sometimes be attributed to carelessness, most of the time it is as a result of people’s inability to spell.
“Therefore events like Spelling Bee competitions can help solve the problem of poor spelling abilities in the country. Spelling Bee competitions contribute positively to the teaching and learning process. We must all endeavour to ensure that it is never a one-off activity, but one that is here to stay not only in this region, but in all other regions in the country. I appeal to organisations and parastatals to join the MoBSE bandwagon and help move the education system further as education is key to national development.”
Jainaba Jadama, marketing officer of Amra said the competition is meant to promote education through the convention of students to compete in order to boost their knowledge.
“We are working to decentralise this kind of competitions to other regions as well every term. It has been part of Sat Inter Trade (Peak)’s corporate social responsibility every year to stage promotions in sports, health, education for the past 12 years. I urge everyone to drink Peak Milk with its brand loyalty to stay healthier,” she said.
Kotu Upper Basic School emerged as winners with D20, 000, St Therese’s D15,000, Latrikunda Upper Basic D10, 000 and St Peter’s D5,000.
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