ICRB organized
an in-school debate competition open to all A-level students in Rato Bangala
School. It was spearheaded by members of the board including Itr. Samikshya
Siwakoti, Itr. Piyush Bhopalka, and Itr. Aarjit Adhikary. With this debate,
ICRB hoped to raise awareness on social issues bothering our community and
encourage complex, coherent debating among our peers. This would make students
more aware of their surrounding and force them to think critically for
solutions to these concerns.
Trials were
held after school in our school classrooms. Beforehand, those who had signed up were
given a random topic regarding a social issue and given a few days to research
on that topic thoroughly and prepare a stand for the trial. In our classroom, each
participant had a minute to assert their side of argument and cite supporting
evidence to convince the judge.
Ms. Perry, our English and Literature head, was
gracious enough to be our judge and sort out the competition. The trails lasted
for three sessions and Ms. Perry had to pick out the best speakers. Although a
grueling process, she managed to single out six students from a pool of around
forty students. These six had a clearer, more intelligent insight on their
topic and a stronger stage presence. They were divided into two teams and given a
question ‘Should prostitution be legalized in Nepal?’ For the final debate,
each team had to argue on either side of the topic and convince the judges ‘yes’
or ‘no’.
After much planning
and organizing, the final was held in the Rato Bangala auditorium. Our special
judges were Ms. Perry, Mr. Rabindra Mishra (BBC Nepal) and Mr. Santosh Shah - recipient of Youth ambassador for
Peace. Ms. Milan Dixit - school principal - and Ms. Shanta Dixit - school director-
were also present, as well as all students from Grade Seven and above. Everyone
was expecting a strong, clear debate from these two teams.
Well, no
one was disappointed by the hour long debate. The two teams shot at each other
and were neck to neck in the debate race. Their scores were extremely close, in
fact our judges found it incredibly difficult to decide on a winning team.
Finally, the team led by Veda Khadka won over Apekshya Prasai’s team by a
narrow margin of two points. Both teams scored in a range of 400 plus points
over a maximum of 500 points.
After
debating, our contestants were praised for their strong performance by our
judges. They had enjoyed judging them and been treated to a drawing, engaging
debate. Certificates were presented to our contestants and all those who
assisted in making the debate a success.
ICRB accomplished
in raising awareness of social issues as well as its work among students of
Rato Bangala through this competition.
