Wife of the Former Governor of Ogun State, Mrs.Olufunso Amosun has expressed her desire to support projects that would motivate students to pay better attention to their studies as part of the effort of the present administration’s mission to rebuild education standards in the State.
Speaking at the signing of Memorandum of Understanding between the state government and the foundation/flag-off ceremony of the maiden edition of the Spelling Bee Competition for Secondary School students in Ogun State, Mrs. Amosun said the competition was designed to improve education standards in the state public schools and facilitate intellectual, mental and physical motivation.
Describing the competition as a “successful educational strategy” and catalyst to improve spelling standards among students,” she said:”research has shown that there is direct correlation between spelling ability and reading ability, as such, spelling accuracy impacts positively on reading accuracy which go hand in hand with writing skills and by extension will improve the academic performance of our students.”
Mrs. Amosun, however, noted that the spelling skills of our students have suffered a great setback in this era of advanced technology and high tech gadgets like computers and mobile phones which finish off words for us as we type.
According to her, “This technology has made it possible to write words accurately without actually knowing how to spell the word at all! Words have been deformed and castrated through the constant use of slangs and slogans which have evolved into frequently used words which have almost confused us into accepting them as English words. Students have gotten into the habit of reinventing words through short forms in the name of SMS messages that sometimes require the service of a soothsayer to unravel the intended meaning of these reinvented words!”
She noted that the Spelling Bee Com petition was designed “to improve English Language learning in schools, paying particular attention to spellings,” adding that “the competition is aimed at encouraging academic excellence in our schools generally. We are convinced that this competition will raise the bar of educational standards in our schools.”
Mrs. Amosun added that the competition would go a long way in boosting the self-confidence and the study habits of students, because “to compete and emerge as the winner of this kind of competition the student must truly have studied hard.”
The competition, which is open to all secondary school students across the 20 local government areas in Ogun State, was expected to assist students in building their vocabulary, strengthen their proficiency in English Language and encourage students to constantly strive for academic excellence.
The governor’s wife noted that the Senator lbikunle Amosun administration has identified education as one of the government’s five important cardinal points and as such, primary and secondary education is completely free, whilst tertiary education is handsomely subsidized in Ogun State. Building on this laudable gesture, she explained that the New Era Foundation, which has successfully organised the competition over the years in Lagos State, was partnering with her in collaboration with the Ogun State Ministry of Education, Science and Technology to stage the competition in Ogun State and make it an annual event.
Also speaking at the occasion, the state Commissioner for Education, Science and Technology, Barrister Olusegun Odubela said the competition would promote and improve study habits among pupils and students and it would prove as a valuable tool for achieving the state’s educational goals.
He charged the students to take advantage of the Spelling Bee Competition to improve on their reading habits and general academic performance, saying this would help them in all their future endeavors.