Young Educators Foundation has announced that Nigeria and Ghana will represent Africa at the prestigious Scripps National Spelling Bee in 2025, to be hosted in the United States. This marks a significant milestone for Nigeria as it joins Ghana, which has represented the continent for nearly two decades.
Eugenia Tachie-Menson, CEO of the Young Educators Foundation, revealed this in a statement released on Thursday. The announcement highlights the foundation’s collaboration with the Lucid Education Initiative in Nigeria, aiming to inspire a passion for spelling and literacy among Nigerian youths.
“This collaboration aims to ignite a passion for spelling and literacy among Nigerian youths,” said Tachie-Menson. “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.”
The foundation is already working on a selection process to identify students who will compete at the national level, with the eventual champion earning a spot in the Scripps National Spelling Bee in Washington, D.C., in May 2025. The selection process will begin with private schools and later expand to public schools across Nigeria.
Afolajimi Akinyoyenu, CEO of Lucid Education Initiative, emphasized the broader impact of Nigeria’s participation in the competition. “This program 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 stated.
The 2024 edition of the Scripps National Spelling Bee featured over 245 national competitors from schools across the U.S., Europe, Ghana, Canada, and other regions. Known for its rigorous standards, the competition challenges spellers to ask questions within 75 seconds and spell each word within 90 seconds.
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Nigeria’s entry into this prestigious competition signifies a new chapter in African educational representation on the global stage, promising to elevate the continent’s profile in literacy and academic excellence.
