Last week an interesting debate session was held between the students of La Colombiere and Kigali Christian School, Kibagabaga. The debate which was held under the motion “Should girls get married at the age of 18” was aimed at boosting language skills among the students of the two schools besides the learning opportunity regarding the debate motion. Shuni Ali a senior three student from Kigali Christian School said that through such debates, there is a lot to learn from one another and also to improve on spoken English and public speaking skills.“Debating helps students to build effective communication skills, which enhances their confidence to communicate with clear expressions,” Shuni said shortly after debating.She added that, “The strong arguments from the two sides opposers and proposers help us to come to reality and to build our capacity and at the same time help us to discover our voices through covering wider issues.”The outcome of the debate was a tie as both schools scored the same marks after the judges had finished compiling the scores. Amande Kangabe a senior two student of La Colombiere Secondary School who proposed the motion said that the debate gave her a general knowledge on the stated motion because there are things she did not know yet they were worth reflecting upon.“I realised that at the age of eighteen it does not necessary mean getting married but that time one can be mature to reason and also to do other activities,” she said.She added that this is another way of creating relationships between different schools and understanding our weaknesses as we learn from one another.“They showed great confidence when they presented their points but they still need to hold more such debates because practice makes perfect,” said Edith Birungi one of the teachers who served as a judge.
