“Spelling Bee” coaches in the Volta Region at the weekend appealed to the Regional Education Directorate to institutionalise the “Spelling Bee” competition in the basic schools.

They said an inter schools and zones spelling competition could stimulate pupils to learn and enhance academic performance in the region.

The coaches made the appeal at a soiree at the instance of Mr Bright Dey, Regional Coordinator of “Spelling Bee” after a contest to select pupils to represent the region in the national contest in February 2016.

“Spelling Bee” is a contest in which competitors are eliminated as they fail to spell a given word correctly.

Madam Florence Edifo, Headmistress, Regional Model School, noted that correct pronunciation of words is a major challenge to pupils and asked kindergarten teachers to be included in the concept.

She said the focus should not be on lower and upper primary teachers.

Madam Fafali Adzotor, a Coach from the Ho-Dome Roman Catholic Basic School expressed concern about the lack of dictionary in the schools and said it would be ideal for every pupil to have a dictionary.

Mr Dey said a study in 2012 indicated that only seven per cent of children in the Region could read and urged the coaches to help address the situation.