Young Educators Foundation has announced that Nigeria and Ghana will represent Africa at the prestigious Scripps National Spelling Bee, which will be hosted in the U.S. in 2025.

Eugenia Tachie-Menson, the foundation’s CEO, disclosed this in a statement on Thursday.

Ms Tachie-Menson said Ghana had represented the continent for about two decades in the spelling competition that tests students’ competence in spelling and vocabulary prowess.

She said the foundation, in collaboration with the Lucid Education Initiative, Nigeria, facilitated Nigeria’s joining the representation.

According to her, the foundation is already working on a selection process for students to compete at the national level for global representation. The chief executive officer added that they had begun the selection from some private schools and later to public schools.

“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, Lucid Education Initiative CEO, said Nigeria’s participation in the competition would highlight the importance of literacy and spelling education among young students.

“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.

The 2024 edition had 245 national competitors from schools across the U.S., Europe, Ghana, and Canada.

The Scripps National Spelling Bee is a thrilling mental challenge, with spellers having just 75 seconds to ask questions and 90 seconds to spell each word.

(NAN)