Education: NGO seeks to revive culture of debate in schools
Education: NGO seeks to revive culture of debate in schools
Debates
By Diana Omueza
Abuja, Jan. 23, 2023 (NAN) Project One Nigeria, under its Project One Leadership Clubs (PLC), is seeking to revive the culture of open school debates amongst students in order to build their confidence and help them overcome the fear of public speaking in future.
Mrs Busayo Busari-Akinnadeju, the Founder of the clubs, said this on Monday in Abuja during the maiden edition of the PLC Inter-Schools Open Debate Competition.
Busari-Akinnadeju said that it was important for students to start early in addressing the fears and other barriers that could hinder efficient and eloquent public speaking as well as build confidence in relating with their peers and friends.
According to her, the PLC clubs have impacted in the students the right leadership values needed for the future and today is just a showcase of the impacts.
“Earlier in the year 2022, the Secondary Education Board gave us the approval for school clubs in secondary schools in Abuja which was a pilot project and of course we started it and we have been interacting with students by giving them the right leadership values.
“Today, the inter-school debate is an opportunity for us to bring our students together to test some of the things they’ve learned about leadership to work and to build their confidence level.
“Today also is actually a very good one for us because after inauguration of the school clubs we are able to now bring all the students together again under this platform to express themselves and canvass their position and to demonstrate their beliefs,” she said.
The founder said that there would be continuity of the inter-schools debates and more interactive programmes would be introduced to also build student leadership networking amongst schools.
“Definitely, this is a maiden edition and of course we are going to be having more interactive relations amongst the students from schools to schools.
“And of course, we are extending the clubs to other states in Nigeria and this would keep getting better, keep improving and I believe more Nigerians will be encouraged to embrace education as the pathway to learning,” she said.
Mr Itam Nneoyi, Assistant Director, Co-Curricular, FCT Division of the Secondary Education Board, lauded the level of confidence and display of leadership prowess by the students during the debate session.
Nneoyi said that the board encourages such programmes that would develop and enhance the hidden prowess of students, build their confidence as well as contribute to the total positive turnout of a student.
“We always encourage this type of programmes and that is why we allowed them to participate in the school clubs creation because it builds them up and it is a leadership tailored club that builds up the students leadership skills.
“It enables them to blend well in the society and also influences their peers and friends positively.
“We pick leaders from the grassroots so that when they grow, they will not be new to the act of leadership.
“So today, it is glaring, we are happy and excited that out students can perform this way and for so many of you that don’t know.
“We in the public schools in the FCT are doing excellently well and that is why you can see the performance you have seen today.
“This is just a child’s play, of course schools just resumed and the children are just trying to settle down, so what you saw here is a little of what we have and of what our teachers can produce,” he said.
He called for partnership on educational programmes that would further build up students positively to take up leadership roles in future.
Ms Agatha Oga-Ushange, the overall winner of the three debating sessions, expressed satisfaction in her participation in the debate competition and her joy in emerging as the overall winner.
“I am from the prestigious Government Girls Secondary School, Dutse, and as our logo says “Dutse leads others follow”.
“Am very happy that as I have come here, I represented my school well and our slogan has indeed been proven to everyone here.
“I feel very good, at first when I came, I was seeing a lot of schools and many people, but I didn’t let my confidence die and at the end of the day, I am very happy that I won,” she said.
She encouraged female students to take up leadership roles alongside their male student counterparts and address their fears of public speaking in other to emerge successful in whatever endeavors they went into in future.
The overall winner of the debate was rewarded with the sum of N100,000 and an additional N50,000 by an anonymous sponsor, as well as US$10 by one of the judges and other prizes.
The runner up was rewarded with N50,000 and an additional N50,000 by an anonymous sponsor as well as US$10 by one of the judges and other prizes.
All the speakers of the debate were given N10,000 each for participating, courtesy of the founder.
Participants were drawn from Model Secondary School Maitama, Government Secondary School, Apo, Wuse Zone-3, Lifecamp, Garki, Tundun-Wada Zone-4, Jabi, Government Day Secondary School, Karu, and Government Girls Secondary School, Dutse.
The topics of the three sessions were: Do you need a title to be a leader? Does the character of a nation come from the citizens or leaders? And Does leadership have gender. (NAN) (www.nannews.ng)
DOM/VAO
Edited by Vincent Obi