Girls’ High pupils in debate finals
BIOTECHNOLOGY to address food security in South Africa is the topic that will be debated by pupils from Kimberley Girls’ High in the finals of the 2016 South African Agency for Science and Technology Advancement (SAASTA) National Schools Debates Competition.
Taking place on Thursday next week in Johannesburg, the SAASTA National Schools Debates Competition is an annual programme that aims to encourage young people to address key issues around science and technology faced by their communities.
Kimberley Girls’ High will go head-to-head against eight other competing high schools from around the country, all of whom are provincial finalists out of 90 schools that competed in the regional rounds of SAASTA debates in April this year.
In addition to increasing their knowledge and gaining experience in the debating arena, the winning national team will be rewarded with a trip to New York, which includes scientific exploration as well as tourism.
Conceived and hosted by SAASTA, a business unit of the National Research Foundation, the programme seeks to foster the confidence to speak about science in high school pupils from Grades 9 to 11.
It also gives participants the opportunity to develop research, critical thinking and information literacy skills, as well as the ability to work as a team to present logical, clear arguments.
The topic for the 2016 SAASTA National Schools Debates Competition is: South Africa faces high levels of poverty, resulting in a significant number of households being classified as food insecure and high levels of malnutrition, particularly in children. How can biotechnology be used to address food security in South African households?
Competing schools will be tasked to argue this topic from four different perspectives: Application and Benefit, Economic, Socio-Cultural and Political.
The contestants are only allowed to pre-prepare their opening statements but subsequent responses and closing speeches must be prepared during the competition.
The top schools and regional debate winners are: Kimberley Girls’ High (Northern Cape); Queens Boys’ College (Eastern Cape), Randfontein High (Gauteng); Mashising Secondary School (Mpumalanga), Solvista Secondary School (KZN), Hentie Cilliers High School (Free State), Dendron Secondary School (Limpopo), Cravenby Secondary School (Western Cape) and High School for Girls Potchefstroom (North West).