Mackenzie High wins JOF Haynes debate for third year in a row

Dec 05, 2012 News

Having battled to the bitter end to prove itself worthy of the title, the team from Mackenzie High School was yesterday able to claim a well deserved victory, defeating its arch rival Anna Regina Secondary School, in the 2012 JOF Haynes Memorial Inter-Secondary Schools debating competition at the National Cultural Centre.

The competing teams (Mackenzie High students at left) after the verbal clash yesterday.

This is the second time that the Region 10 School snatched the win from the grasp of the Region Two School, and the feat also represents its third consecutive win. Last year the verbal showdown was against Queen’s College and a year prior, Mackenzie High was able to secure the title after thrashing Anna Regina at the same venue that the competition was held yesterday. The Region Two School had comfortably held the title for a number of years before being dethroned by Mackenzie High.
However, yesterday’s victory did not come too easily as it took much deliberation on the part of the judges before the announcement was made, breaking the evident tension which had built up.
With the moot being ‘A technical/vocational education and training (TVET) programme in secondary schools will significantly enhance Guyana’s economic growth’, Mackenzie High School as the defending champions were tasked with proposing while Anna Regina Secondary opposed.
The Competition kicked off shortly after 10:00 hours with Mackenzie High’s First speaker, Felicia Seon, who eloquently sought to establish how TVET could help to significantly enhance Guyana’s economic growth. The second and third speakers, Manouska Vyfhuis and Trishanna Layne, effectively did their part to help convince the panel of judges how a revamped school curriculum, which includes TVET programmes, could help to equip youths with the requisite skills to meet the demands of the labour force.
Though fluent and persuasive in their presentations, the Region 10 team failed in their quest to truly give clarity to the significant impact that TVET could have on the economy.
Anna Regina Secondary erred in like manner when it merely sought to distinguish its rate of significant economic growth as 50 per cent or more of the Gross Domestic Product.
Nevertheless, the Region Two team, led by a very articulate Zimeena Rasheed, who was ably supported by second and third speakers Twedale Marks and Tia Daman, sought to highlight that while TVET could have a crucial place in the education system, it certainly could not have a significant impact on its own. Together they sought to pinpoint existing shortcomings of the Education Ministry’s TVET programme and insisted that a feasibility study would have to be undertaken to truly ascertain its possible impact.
The debating competition was moderated by accomplished educator, Mrs. Ingrid Fung, and judged by a panel including Deputy Chief Education Officer, Ms. Bibi Alli, and Mr. Parikhan Ram with Ms. Lurine Meertins as the Chief Judge.
In presenting the judges’ observations and decision, Meertins highlighted the limitations of both teams and even took note of the fact that neither team included male members. However, she did commend them for their efforts which served to fully captivate the attention of the audience which was made up of mostly students, teachers, and regional and central education officials among other invitees.
With a score of 797, the proposing Mackenzie High was able to claim the title but lost out on the Best Speaker accolade which was handed to Anna Regina’s First Speaker Zimeena Rasheed. Anna Regina Secondary gained 779 points for its efforts.
The winning school claimed for itself a new computer, complete with peripheral devices, compliments of Metro Office Supplies, which has been supporting the decades-old competition for several years. Each participating student was presented with a trophy and a $20,000 book voucher redeemable at Austin’s Book Store.
The national debating competition commenced in September as part of the 2012 Education Month of activities and saw the two participating schools remaining undefeated throughout the various rounds.