The Sunday Mail
Enock Nyambo
MARANATHA and ZRP High Schools exhibited great oratory prowess at the National Association of School Heads (NASH) Harare province qualifiers debate league matches staged at Prince Edward recently. Speaking at the end of the qualifiers, the National Coordinator Mr Zvongouya applauded the fierce competitiveness of the battles of the brains and averred; “Competitive debate is one of the great equalizers of educational opportunity. In a number of respects, competitive debate is uniquely suited to building what’s been called the ‘Four C’s’ of 21st century skills — critical thinking, communication, collaboration and creativity. And to that list I might add a fifth ‘C’ — for civic awareness and engagement.”
On Friday 24 June 2016, the Junior and Senior Semis and Finals were held at Prince Edward school. For the senior semi-finals, Maranatha Christian High School were pitted against Allan Wilson while ZRP High School clashed with Highfield High 1. In the Juniors category, Maranatha battled with Prince Edward as ZRP will opposed Lord Malvern. The Sunday Mail Bridge will bring you results of these finals next week.
The schools that converged at Prince Edward for the junior pools were Eaglesvale, Zengeza 1, ZRP, Christ Ministries (Pool A); Prince Edward, Highfield 1, Tafara 2 (Pool A2); Glenview 1, Nyatsime College, Churchill, Maranatha (Pool B); Queen Elizabeth, Oriel Boys and Lord Malvern (Pool B2). Emerging winners from each respective pool were ZRP, Prince Edward, Maranatha and Lord Malvern. For the seniors category, the schools were Glen View 1, Nyatsime College, Roosevelt, Maranatha (Pool A), Queen Elizabeth, Oriel Boys, Highfield 1 (Pool A 2), Glen View 2, Seke, ZRP, Christ Ministries (Pool B), Allan Wilson, Mabvuku and Lord Malvern (Pool B 2). Victorswere Maranatha, Highfield 1, ZRP and Allan Wilson.
Darlene Chamangira, a Form 3 student at Maranatha Christian High School scooped the overall Juniors best speaker and asked to comment on her impetus, she said “Debate has proven to be the platform of my education. Not only does it build a confident girl in me, it puts me in a setting that allows me to meet remarkable people that have continued to shape my life for the better. I am indebted to the Maranatha Christian High School Debate Club.”
ZRP High school debate patron Mr Manunure commended the brilliance with which the students argued and admitted that NASH debate competitions were indeed platforms for the sculpting of future leaders as “You won’t find any activity that makes you think and question so many ideas, read and research so many books, write and speak about the biggest problems in the world, and meet and compete against students across the nation.”
The motions, as are subjectson topical issues every year, were situated right at the heart of both national and global political, social and economic discourses and some of the most thought-provoking ones were: “Married people with children should not be allowed to divorce”, “Prostitution must be taken as a profession not an act of evil”, “This house would ban MPs from pursuing outside interests”, “Women Action Groups have only succeeded in dividing families” and “Sexual orientation is determined at birth.”
It is hoped that NASH will continue living to its billing and students are encouraged to be inspired by leaders such as president Obama who stated in his speech to American students in 2009 “you may not know you could be a president or Supreme Court justice until you join your school’s debate team”!
Students, YOU CAN SEND YOUR ARTICLES THROUGH E-MAIL, FACEBOOK, WHATSAPP or TEXT Just app Charles Mushinga on 0772936678 or send your articles, pictures, poetry, art . . . to Charles Mushinga at [email protected] or [email protected] or follow Charles Mushinga on Facebook or @charlesmushinga on Twitter. You can also post articles to The Sunday Mail Bridge, PO Box 396, Harare or call 0772936678.
