By Our Reporter
Parental Care Nursery and Primary School Bushenyi has been declared the winner of continental debate competitions in Kenya where they battled over 22 schools from various parts of Africa.
The competitions dubbed ‘2023 Pan African Junior Schools Debate Competitions’ kicked off on the 27th & ended on the 28th of November 2023 at Our Lady of Fatima Kasarani in Nairobi.
The competitions were organized by Primary Schools Debate Challenge (PriDC) which is a non-profit organization that aims to educate African children on issues of child abuse and early child marriages and is known for running primary debate competitions for African schools.
In these competitions, Parental Care trounced mighty schools from Kenya, Zimbabwe, Tanzania, Mozambique, Botswana and Nigeria.
On finals, Parental Care faced off with Mother Patrick Convent Primary School Zimbabwe which was the second and the hosts Our Lady of Fatima Kenya scooped the fourth position.
Further, in these same competitions, Parental Care's Timothy Murungi was recognized as the best debater and Precious Jaka from Amai Mugabe Junior School, Zimbabwe as the best public speaker.
Now, after the above continental victory, Parental Care is already polishing its shoes to represent not only Uganda but the entire Africa at the global debate competitions that will be held next year in the Czech Republic.
2023 Victories
These come a few days after this same school showcased a powerful performance at the recently concluded national spelling bee competitions held at Serena Hotel, Kampala.
The Bushenyi’s finest school, in July 2023 beat hundreds of western Uganda schools, to qualify for the above competitions.
In the same year 2023, Parental Care was declared the winner of Uganda National Junior Schools Debate Championships.
Back To Debates, Why Parental Care Prioritizes This?
In general, there are various benefits of debate which include:
- Critical Thinking
Debating, instead of arguing, helps defuse an escalating situation. With debates, students can develop essential critical thinking skills ability to make well arguments in addition to questioning behind a particular conclusion. Critical thinking can also help students become curious about new ideas and building an attitude of questioning.
2. Articulating the thoughts
Debating helps pupils to become better at explaining a variety of topics. From planning the argument to choosing the words wisely, debating helps to identify the audience and choose the appropriate tone. The ability to articulate their thoughts, producing well planned and sharp argument, is a key in debating.
3. Build a meaning out of complex situations
Debating also helps students to construct meaning out of complex topics. Taking the time to research the topic carefully, and construct the points will help them make a better argument.
4. Develops courage
Most students would rather develop courage while speaking or arguing with others. Debating involves attention, preparation and a bit of bravery to stand in front of peers arguing exactly the opposite.
5. Integrate knowledge
Debate topics are multifaceted across several disciplines. So, classroom debates allow debaters to gain knowledge outside the student’s normal and academic subjects. Debates provide students the opportunity to explore real-world topics and issues.
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