THE Polokwane Debating Society and Polokwane Municipality will host the Mayoral Debate Tournament again this year.
The first stage of the competition starts today (Wednesday) and the final round will be held in August. The motion is inspired by last year’s matric results.
Learners will debate whether government should adopt the policy that educators’ remuneration should be determined by their learners’ performance.
The first round of the debate tournament will be a non-elimination round to allow teams to find their feet.
This means that all registered teams will take part in at least two debates.
Last year 34 teams took part in this debate tournament.
Eagle’s Nest Christian School was the winner of the experienced league, while ME Makhatho Secondary School took the lead in the inexperienced league.
The Polokwane Debating Society was established in 1997 and functions as a spontaneous effort by local students and residents in cooperation with the Polokwane city library.
The society received the mayor of Polokwane’s support in 1998 and the floating Mayor’s Trophy has since become a coveted prize for the winning school every year.
By making use of the basic formal South African Council for English Education (SACEE) debating rules, a practical structure is set and consistency in standard is achieved.
Local teachers and academics from the University of Limpopo do adjudication on a voluntary basis. The library provides the infrastructure as an extension service to the community to promote reading and the use of the library for research.
The first five to six rounds of the debate competition will take place on the same day at different venues namely Polokwane city library auditorium, Westenburg library, Nirvana library, Moletjie library, Noorderland High School, Capricorn High school, Masedibu High School and Mountain View High School.
The closing date for registration is January 31.
Schools that are interested in taking part in this year’s debate competition can contact Maurdy Dunster at (015) 290 2154 before January 29, to be registered by January 31.
