After over two hours’ battle of wits, Tema Senior High School emerged winners of the 5th Inter-School debate organized by Ghana Publishers Association and Afram Publications.
They beat Winneba Senior High School in a thrilling finale with a 79.9% mark as against the latter’s 72.5%.
Swedru Senior High School came third, while Okuapeman Senior High School placed fourth. For their prize, Tema Senior High School took away a plaque, cartons of assorted books and a desk top computer to facilitate their preparations towards future debates.
The Inter-School debate was held as part of this year’s Ghana International Book Fair which opened at the National Theatre in Accra on Wednesday. It is under the theme: “Inclusive Publishing, Celebrating Accessible Literature.”
Representatives of Tema, Okuapeman, Swedru and Winneba Senior High schools took part in this year’s debate.
The team from Swedru SHS argued against the motion- The devastating effect of illegal mining (galamsey) on the environment is due to non-implementation of appropriate policies, whereas their counterparts from Winneba SHS argued for the motion.
On the other hand, the debaters from Tema Senior High School and Okuapeman Senior High School, debated over what strategies could be used to deal with indiscipline in schools. They argued respectively, for and against the motion- Indiscipline in schools is a result of deficiencies in the school curriculum.
Subsequently, Tema SHS and Winneba SHS faced off over the motion- The publishing industry has been adversely affected by the lack of copyright enforcement: Are authors and publishers deserving of copyright protection?
At the end of the grueling session, the judges ruled in favour of Tema Senior High School for their cogent points for the motion.
The debaters from Temasco argued that copyright ensures that creators are duly compensated for their creative efforts, thus promoting a thriving creative industry.
In addition, the creative industries, with support from copyright protection, contribute meaningfully to the national economy.
Again, although copyright protects creators’ rights, it also aims to inspire artistic creativity in the youth. Furthermore, copyright guarantees the continuous supply of educational materials.
The Managing Director of Afram Publications, Ms Harriet Tagoe, who presented the award explained that, “The debate aims at affording the debaters an opportunity to pitch ideas that would help address the pertinent issues facing the country. It was also aimed to build their communication skills as well as give them an avenue to exchange knowledge.”
Aside winning the overall prize, Tema SHS also worn the Best Debating School. The best Debater Prize went to Paula Lartey of Winneba SHS. All the debaters received books for their efforts.
The event was attended by many stakeholders in the book industry.
