The competition is meant to take education to the next level as well as make reading and spelling a friendly game. The competition will feature pupils from grades 7, 8 and 9.
The dream game of spelling was launched at St. Peter’s technical junior and senior secondary school during the regional spelling bee competition for West Coast Region schools.
Tunde Muyi Ogundimu, CEO of TAKE-M Transformation Organisation said the competition will enable pupils critically think and push them into the future.
He urged the nation to embrace the competition, saying: “this is what we can call ours.” He pointed out that the spelling bee is borrowed from a different continent but the dream game of spelling is purely Gambian.
He noted that if we do not expose our children who are future leaders today, then when they get to leadership positions, it will be difficult for them to lead.
He thanked President Barrow for creating a peaceful environment for all those living in The Gambia. He also thanked Central Bank of The Gambia for ensuring the spelling bee competition goals are exceeded.
Isatou Sowe of the National Library of The Gambia explained that the dream game of spelling will help students keep track from primary to junior level and hopefully secondary level.
She described the initiative as a huge achievement that helps improve students’ public speaking abilities and boost their confidence.
Madam Sowe who has been the chief judge for the competitions for the past six years stated that the dream game of spelling will be tougher on judges than students.
She explained that a student will be given a word to find other words within that word – for example if a student is given the word president he/she can find dent or resident in it.
She highlighted that she has seen improvement from spellers in the spelling bee competition compared to previous years.
She noted that the competition is contributing towards quality education not only at primary level but also at junior and senior levels as some students who previously participated in the competition are on the verge of graduating from senior school.
Meanwhile, in December last year the organization launched its African Nations Current Affairs competition initiated to help children know about their heritage and culture.