KARACHI: More than 600 students with their teachers took part in the final round of a spelling competition and received prizes at a ceremony on Thursday.

The event titled Korangi Spellathon was organised by the World Wide Fund for Nature-Pakistan (WWF-P) in collaboration with the Karachi Youth Initiative (KYI) at a lawn in the Korangi Crossing area.

Students from 50 private schools in Korangi took part in the programme that involved extensive engagement with students for six months, organisers said.

Speaking on the occasion, an official of the WWF-P, Asad Shahbaz Khan, said the Spellathon was an environment-based spelling competition, which had been regularly held by the organisation across the country for the past 15 years.

“A school plays a vital role in enhancing a student’s understanding of conservation issues and events like the one we just have help increase awareness of environment challenges among teachers and students. ” he said.

KYI spokesman Farhan Iqbal said the participation of students and their commitment was commendable during the event. “We hope that students will continue to learn through such activities and polish their skills. The response from school administrations and parents was also very positive,” he noted.

A senior officer of the Green School Programme of the WWF-P, Tooba Iqbal, said the new version of the spelling contest was more interactive and was designed to enhance students’ abilities to understand nature-related issues.

“Such activities provide students with an insight into the environmental issues the country faces and motivate them to become responsible agents of change by inculcating a sense of civic responsibility in them,” she said.

The winners included Aqsa School, Karachi Cadet School (main campus), Karachi Cadet School (Zaman Town), Gul-i-Shahbaz School, Tabeer Public School, Study Aid Grammar School, Star Kids Grammar School, Pakistan Oxford Grammar School and The Future Academy.

Published in Dawn, December 12th, 2014