Delhi Public School, R.K. Puram hosted its 3rd Annual Inter-School Debate Competition, “ आrohan – Ascent of Young Minds“, from 8 and 9 August 2019. Through intensive debates organised by the English and the Hindi departments, the students of classes VI-VIII were provided with an opportunity to convey and contradict arguments in a rational and insightful manner.
Day 1
The English Debate saw the participation of 31 schools, with each team comprising of two students – one ‘for’ and one ‘against’ the motion.Dr. Renu Nayar, the Vice Principal, felicitated the judges. Ms. Niva Chhonkar, Head Mistress VI-VIII, welcomed the students and wished them luck in the two day event.
The event was judged by Ms. Kiran Misra, an English announcer for All India Radio, who has been a Guest Lecturer at IGNOU, National Broadcasting Academy, Y.W.C.A. and the Asian Academy of Film and Television; and Ms. Anavisha Banerjee, a Professor of English at the Bharati College, DU, who has published numerous book reviews and articles, and conducted various workshops.
Participants debated on the topic “In today’s scenario, with knowledge at everyone’s fingertips, education should not include attendance in school as a prerequisite”, and engaged in invigorating debates with deceptively simplistic arguments. The students passionately expressed their perspectives and personal experiences regarding the topic. Rebuttals from the participants were encouraged to assess the in-depth knowledge and understanding of the topic by speakers.
Speakers were judged on the basis of the content of their arguments, delivery, relevance to the topic, and participation in the rebuttal round.The esteemed judges, in their speeches, commended the extraordinary efforts of the students for their well-constructed debates. They congratulated them for showing enthusiastic participation.
The Vote of Thanks was delivered by Dr. Atika Dayal, Head of the English Department, who complimented the spirited debates put forward by the young participants, while thanking the judges for their precious time. She expressed her gratitude to the teachers for their diligent efforts.
The results of the event are as follows:
| Position | Name of the student | Name of the school |
| I | Hans Deepak | D.P.S. International |
| II | Siddharth Nair | D.P.S. Sushant Lok |
| III | Aryan Kamat | Amity International School, Noida |
| OVERALL WINNERS | |
| Name of the students | Name of the school |
| Akshat Sharma Aarav Garg | D.P.S. Faridabad |
Day Two
The Hindi Debate competition on day two of the event brought in 30 schools. Like the day before, there were two students per team; as ‘paksh‘ and ‘vipaksh‘. Participants began to trickle into the AVH early in the morning as the day’s programme began to unfold.
The opening ceremony saw the Hindi choir welcoming the schools and judges with the melodious rendition of ‘Swagatam’. This was followed by the felicitation of the judges by Ms.Rashmi Malhotra the Headmistress of classes 9 and 10.She appreciated the teachers involved in the event. She wished the participants the best of luck and handed over the podium to Ms. Niva Chhonkar,the Headmistress of classes 6 to 8, who extended a warm welcome and added that competitions are an opportunity to learn from others and improve.The Head of the Hindi Department,Ms. Fatma Kirmani and her team of teachers had organized the debate with great enthusiasm and zeal.The judges for the event were Shri Nalin Chauhan, Deputy Director of News and Broadcasting in the Delhi Government, and Ramashankar Kushwaha, an associate professor at Din Dayal Singh College and the author of many books .
The motion for the day was ‘Abhibhavakon ki Rok-Tok Balakon ko Sanskari Banati Hai’. The teams began with their deliveries and engaged in compelling arguments and interactive question-answer sessions with the audience. The topic- efficacy of RokTok on children by their parents sparked intense, passionate vaad-vivaad among the students, making the event a most intriguing spectacle.With this debate the competition came to a close with a thunderous applause.
The judge, Mr. Rama Shankar,spoke to the children, where he congratulated the participants,for the hard work they had put in for the event . He expressed his own opinion against the motion for the day and accentuated on the importance of language and how one needs it in every sphere of life.He also expressed his belief that one should not memorise the debates, but should truly comprehend the words they are speaking.
The second judge, Mr. Nalin Chauhan, in his speech spoke of the significant role of teachers in students’ lives today. He talked about the sixteen kinds of sanskaar present in Hindu scriptures that one may use over the course of their lives, and also the vitality of articulation and vocal expression. He ended his speech, linking it with the theme, of the day ,with the advice that the only way to overcome the struggles of life was with the help of one’s parents and teachers.
In the end of the Programme The Principal, Ms. Vanita Sehgal, addressed the gathering by asking the importance of debating in ones life. She interacted with the enthusiastic participants and emphasized that it was imperative to convey our opinions using facts in a structured manner. She concluded on a vibrant note by highlighting the essence of education and by asking the students to have fun, learn something new and remain happy.
Mrs Fatma Kirmani ,Head of the Hindi department thanked the participating schools and announced the result of Hindi Debate and overall Trophy.She called the Teachers and volunteers on stage and audience applauded them .
The event concluded with the National Anthem.
The results of the event are as follows:
| Position | Student’s Name | School Name |
| 1st Position | Arshia Bhatnagar | DPS Sushant Lok |
| 2nd Position | Shifa Mir | Amity International School Noida |
| 3rd Position | Talaj Choudhary | DPS Faridabad |
Overall Hindi Winner- Amity International School Noida
Overall Hindi and English Winner- DPS Faridabad
