The contest will see Grade 6 pupils from private and primary schools across South Africa competing in a spelling contest, all aimed at encouraging literacy among pupils.
Panyasa Lesufi, MEC for Education in Gauteng, said the competition was initiated last year in an attempt to assist intermediate phase pupils in improving their English literacy levels.
“This popular concept, which spread from its early roots in the United States 90 years ago to Canada, Nigeria… and [finally] to our shores, is a great way to combine fun competition with the very real target of turning around literacy among our youth,” he said.
Lesufi added that the previous year’s competition yielded massive excitement and buy-in from the education fraternity, parents, corporate supporters and pupils and it was hoped that this year’s competition would do more.
Nedbank, one of the partners of the contest, also pledged its support for an initiative of this kind, with Kone Gugushe, divisional executive for corporate social investment at Nedbank, explaining the bank’s firm commitment to education for the past five years.
“As [a] socially-responsible bank, we are committed to partnering with stakeholders who are as equally committed to sustainable initiatives which enable socio-economic growth,” she stressed.
Gugushe added that the bank had also worked with Dickinson on the ChessKids Academy initiative, a programme that teaches children in Grade 6 and 7 to play chess; making a meaningful difference to their education and social development.
Also present at the launch was Esther Benjamin, chief executive officer of Monash South Africa, and Nokuthula Msimang, head of SABC Children.
The launch of the spelling bee took place on 16 April in Newtown and is a partnership between the Department of Basic Education, Nedbank, Monash South Africa, Spell IT South Africa and the SABC.
The spelling bee will feature district, provincial and national spelling contests by registered Grade 6 pupils, with three finalists advancing to the final leg of the competition.
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