15 Aug 2022

Six learners will represent Botswana at the Africa Championships Spelling Bee slated  for December in Malawi.

The six emerged champions during a week-long Spelling Bee competition in Francistown last week.

Three are Masa Lerothodi and Anita Sedisa both from Lesedi-La-Pula Primary School in Lobatse and Vijay Mothusi from St Joseph’s Primary School in Gaborone.

From the junior secondary category Motheo Dumuwa of Parwe Junior Secondary School in Mahalapye, Mogoditshane Junior Secondary School’s Junior Rankgaga and Keletso Kwenaile of Kumakwane Junior Secondary School will also be heading for Malawi.

The senior secondary category also produced champions in the likes of Charmaine Phiri and Emmanuel Bonyo both of Ledumang Senior Secondary School in Gaborone and Katlego Polelo of Crack it Maun. 

However, the last three fall outside the continental championships age limit and  will therefore not be participating.

The special education category saw Letshego Modibedi scooping gold followed by Michelle Morwe with silver and Maatla Moruta who settled for bronze. All three are Ramotswa School of the Deaf learners.

Best amongst the six who have made it to the African championships was Form Three learner Dumuwa who spoke English fluently and spelt more words correctly during the entire competition.

In the finals, Dumuwa easily spelt the word ‘skirmish’ to become the best overall in the 2022 junior category Scripps National Spelling Bee championships.  

He was presented with a certificate, gold medal, a laptop and a router.

At the elimination stage, he was asked to spell the word ‘inveigh’ and he did that without difficulty.

The second round saw Dumuwa spell the word ‘belligerent’ beating his other contestants.

In an interview, he said he was ready  to work harder and represent the country well at the Africa Championship Spelling Bee.

Dumuwa, who could not hide his excitement, said he loved English from an early age revealing that William Shakespeare, one of the English literature’s luminaries, was his favourite writer. 

“His work is still relevant even today,” he said.

Dumuwa attributed his victory to parental and teacher support.

His victory was celebrated by his English teacher, Ms Oratile Tsimamme who described him as hardworking and intelligent.

“The school is proud of Dumuwa’s achievement and we are hopeful that he will not only raise the name of the school but the country’s flag too,” she added.

Ms Tsimamme said the school had already started supporting Dumuwa in his journey to the African Championships Spelling Bee.

“We also stand in support of other champions from other schools to start preparing themselves for the elite competition,” she added.

The guest of honour and competition sponsor Mr Arthur Oageng said it was encouraging that government had seen it fit to introduce spelling bee competitions for young learners.

He called on the private sector to step in and support government in the education sector.

 Mr Oageng, who is managing director of Simply Books, decried the declining culture of reading amongst Batswana.

“I encourage you to read more books and take part in spelling bee competitions as it improves students’ vocabulary and boosts their confidence,” he said.

Mr Oageng donated P1 000 to two Masunga Senior Secondary School Form Four learners, Aldrin Joseph and Matsapa Matsapa who had sponsored themselves to participate in the competition for the first time.

He said the money was for transport expenses and other logistics.

Mr Oageng promised to support the two learners with revision books and stationary to help them prepare for Botswana General Certificate of Secondary Education (BGCSE) examinations.

Giving a motivational talk, Pastor Stephen Makuku of the Seventh-Day Adventist Church said English was essential for interaction with the international community. Ends