Spelling bee adds isiXhosa
For us it made really sense to introduce our mother tongue
An annual spelling bee for Eastern Cape pupils in grades 4 to 6, now in its fourth year, had a long-awaited new twist on Thursday.
For the first time, the competition had an isiXhosa category.
The competition, held at the East London Leadership Institute in Stirling, saw 23 pupils compete for the first three prizes in each subject.
In the English category Tlhonolofatso Ramakoa from King Edward High in Maluti won the grand prize, beating Marias Shannon from Marillier’s Academy and Lelona Ndoni from Little Flower in Uitenhage.
Judges had a choice of 1,045 words that they could challenge the pupils with.
In the isiXhosa category, Khanyisa Primary School’s Lilitha Qweqwe beat fellow East Londoner Ukho Mbi from Gcobani Primary to the first spot, and Ovayo Phathekile from Davies Primary in Butterworth was third.
The planner of indigenous languages in the provincial education department, Zoliswa Matshingana, said they were pleasantly surprised by the quality displayed by the pupils, especially those coming from remote rural areas.
“We noticed that there is a new shift in the competition.
“Pupils from schools across the Kei excelled in English this year, something that has [previously] been dominated by former Model C schools,” she said. Matshingana spoke of the significance of the event, which is organised by the department. “It has no boundaries, colour or financial background.
“Pupils compete based purely on their knowledge.”
She said the introduction of isiXhosa was long overdue.
“We had a lot of criticism from parents and local radio stations. For us it really made a lot of sense to introduce our mother tongue in this competition.
“People must understand that this competition is not just about spelling, it is also to test your knowledge,” said Matshingana.
The three pupils who won the English category will travel to the national spelling bee finals in Pretoria later this year at a date still to be confirmed.
No pupil from the Eastern Cape has won the competition before and Matshingana said they hoped that this year they would go all the way.
“So far our pupils have been eliminated at an earlier phase, so hopefully this year they will do better,” she said...
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