Nagaland Spelling Bee Championship 2016 gets underway
KOHIMA, OCTOBER 7: Acknowledging that Nagas have good command over English, Commissioner and Secretary of School Education and SCERT, FP Solo, said Nagaland has the potential to become an educational hub for countries like Myanmar, Thailand, China, etc.
Addressing the inaugural function of the 5th edition of the Nagaland Spelling Bee Championship 2016 on the theme ‘The learning edge’ at the Capital Convention Centre, Kohima, Solo said Nagas need to build strong foundation and capitalise by sending English teachers to countries like China, South Korea, Thailand, etc.
Altogether sixty-three spellers from thirty-seven educational institutions comprising of 34 male and 29 females are participating in this year’s edition from the district of Kohima, Dimapur and Peren.Addressing the gathering, Solo said Nagas have good command over English and has the potential to become an educational hub for countries like Myanmar, Thailand, China, etc. He said Nagas need to build a very strong foundation and capitalise on it by even sending English teachers to countries like China, South Korea, Thailand, etc.
He, however, stated that ‘We are too obsessed and pre-occupied on our weaknesses,’ while referring to psychological apprehension amongst the Naga students on Mathematics and Science as tough subjects.
Underlining the importance of looking up to the dictionary, Solo said one must learn spellings, meaning and pronunciation of new words and improve one’s vocabulary. He also pointed out that dictionaries help one to learn speech sounds with phonetics of international phonetic alphabets.
While encouraging the students to read the dictionary regularly, he said this kind of literary competition must be encouraged in all the educational institutions adding the same could be incorporated as an additional and optional subject in the syllabus too.
Stating that winning the competition is not important, the students were told to make the best of the platform by participating in order to get the best out of it.
In his keynote address, Director of SCERT, Khrietuo Mezhür, expressed his happiness as Nagaland Spelling Bee Championship has been able to create awareness on the importance and benefits of such contest among the schools and colleges since its inception in 2011.
While noting that in today’s ‘smart age,’ people are less bothered by spellings which has led to the loss of the art of spelling, Mezhür highlighted the benefits of the contest stating it can improve one’s spelling and enhance memory power.
He said through the contest, one gets to learn words, find out its origin, how to spell it correctly and also how to use it in a sentence. Further, he stated that it also gives an opportunity to the students for healthy competitive spirit and boosts their confidence.
Convenor of organising committee, Velikho Bio, informed that slight changes have been made in eligibility criteria for a speller from the next edition. Unlike the previous years with participation from Classes VIII to XII, he said the competition will be conducted for students from classes VII to class X.
The Spelling Bee Championship, since 2011, is being organised annually by Fountain Club, in collaboration with the State Council of Education Research Training (SCERT), Government of Nagaland.
Winners of this year champion will be given a cash award of Rs 60,000, Rs 40,000, Rs 20,000 and Rs 15,000 respectively along with citations and trophies. The losing quarterfinalists will also win a cash award of Rs 5,000 each.
The inaugural programme commenced with an invocation said by Parish Priest, Rev Fr Alex Vizo of St Francis De Sales Church, Kohima. A special number was also presented by Dzesekhrienuo Keretsü.
The closing ceremony and prize distribution will be held on October 8 at 4 p.m. with Tenyimi Peoples Organisation president, Timikha Koza, as the special guest.
