The Sawla Senior High School (SHS) in the Savannah Region has won the 2024/2025 national inter-schools debate contest organised by the Northern Debaters Forum (NorDeF), a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO).
The debate, held in Bolgatanga on the topic: “The fight against poverty in northern Ghana is a lost battle”, was between the Sawla SHS, the Saint Francis of Assisi Girls SHS in Jirapa, Tamale and the Bolgatanga Girls SHS.
Sawla SHS and Saint Francis of Assisi Girls with three debaters each, spoke against the topic and polled 639 and 609 marks respectively, while Bolgatanga and Tamale Girls SHSs, who both spoke for the motion with three debaters each, polled 605 and 595 marks to secure the third and fourth positions, respectively.
For their awards, the Sawla SHS debaters received a plaque and medals, while the second and third schools received plaques.
All debaters in the keenly contested sponsored by Kivo, a popular Ghanaian food brand, received certificates of participation and sums of money.
Ms Rekia Yaa Bravo Acheampong of Saint Francis of Assisi Girls and Master Zikirilahi Abdul-Kadiri of Sawla SHS were adjudged best female and male debaters.
Mr Tebon Zumah, the Executive Director of the NorDeF, in his address, said the organisation was established in 2023 to promote public speaking among the youth, especially those in second-cycle and tertiary institutions.
He said the 2024/2025 national debate contest was NorDeF’s first national contest since its establishment, and that the contest started with a preliminary stage in June 2024 through to the zonal stage before the final contest.
He said a total of 42 SHSs were sampled and invited for the preliminary stage, and out of the number, 22 schools across the Upper East, Northern, Upper West and Savannah Regions responded positively to the NGO’s invitation.
The Executive Director explained that “From June 2024 to date means the contest took us approximately 18 months.
“The lengthy time used for the contest was due to so many factors, including long breaks between various stages of the contest, the long distances our team needed to cover to reach out to all interested schools to participate in our debate contest, and the 2024 general election, for which we had to take a break.”
Mr Zumah explained that due to tracking and examination challenges, no school in the North East Region participated even though they were invited.
He said the NGO’s activities covered debate competitions, poetry, drama, spoken words and that the organisation was also into talent identification and development, public speaking training for teachers and students of the debating clubs across the second cycle schools and tertiary institutions in Northern Ghana.
He noted that management of the NorDeF believed that everyone needed public speaking skills to achieve its benefits, saying, “Public speaking skills do not only make you confident when speaking, but also help you articulate effectively, clearly and convincingly.”
Mr Zumah, who is the Director of the Tema Port, acknowledged and thanked the heads and management of the four schools for their interest and participation in the contest, and congratulated the debaters for their efforts.
Dr Aaron Issah Anafure, a Finance and Insurance Expert, who was the Guest of Honour, said public speaking skills were important to every worker, irrespective of their field of expertise.
He said the debate was important as it prepared the students for the future, adding that, “I am excited that young ones like you in the SHS level are seriously engaged in this exercise of public speaking.”
He appealed for support for the NorDeF to enable them to undertake more such competitions across schools in northern Ghana, and commended them for the initiative, noting that “Running an NGO that focuses on promoting public speaking among the youth was not only unique, but timely.”
Mr Razak Zongabon Abdul-Korah, the Upper East Regional Director of the Ghana Education Service (GES), said the competition created an opportunity for the students to build their confidence level and encouraged management of schools in the Region to reciprocate the debate competition in their respective schools.
Master Abdul-Kadiri, the best male debater, in an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA), thanked God for their victory and expressed gratitude to his teachers for guiding them to win the contest.
Some students from the Tamale Girls SHS told the GNA that even though they lost the contest, they were not discouraged and would work on their weaknesses and return stronger in the next contest.
