November 9, 2021
By: Aruna Kamara (BO)
Talking Drum Studio Sierra Leone (TDS) has organized a Youth Intra District Debate Competition for Secondary Schools in Bo, Bombali, Pujehun and Tonkolili at a town hall meeting on the theme ‘Human Rights, inclusive Governance, Gender and Crimes in Sierra Leone’.
Bo Government Secondary School and the St Andrews Secondary School commonly called UCC in Bo were the schools that have progressed to the next stage of the Competition that will take place in Freetown. Holy Rosary Secondary School and Government Technical Secondary School in Masaun will be representing Pujehun District, St Francis Secondary School for Boy and St Joseph Secondary School will be presenting Bombali District while Government Secondary School for Boys in Magburaka and St Joseph Secondary School will be representing Tonkolili District.
Speaking at the town hall meeting held at UMC Centenary Secondary in Bo last week, one of the Project Officers of Talking Drum Studio (TDS) Sierra Leone, Tommy McCarthy said that there was no loser in the debate competition as all of them performed very well.
He however said that they need schools that will represent the district in the national debate that will take place in Freetown and called on the schools that could not make it to the national debate not to feel discouraged.
Mr. McCarthy encouraged the schools progressing to the next stage of the competition to represent their district well, adding that that he hopes the judges will continue to display fairness throughout the debate.
Ambassador Idriss Sama who was the Chief Judge for the Debate said that this debate is different from the traditional type of debate where debate topics are given in advance unlike this debate topics were given few minutes ahead of the debate competition.
“For the category where UCC emerges as the winner, they debated the topic: the Use of Mobile Phone should be Banned in all the Schools while the category where Bo School emerged as the winner, they debated on the topic: Pupils found guilty of Examination Malpractice should be given Public Flogging,’ he highlighted.
Students of Bo School and the UCC promised to represent Bo District well to emerge as the winner in the national Youth-Intra- District Debate organized by Talking Drum Studio Sierra Leone (TDS-SL).