RIYADH — Realizing the significance of the wholesome learning, Pakistan International School-English Section (PISES) always gives due importance to the co-curricular activities in its academic calendar. The annual English debates is unique in the list of co-curricular activities that PISES offers for educational and professional grooming of its students. In debates, the preparation and delivery of argumentation provides students with an opportunity to think critically, develop their academic research skills, improve their communication abilities, solve problems creatively, and increase their self-confidence. In addition, debates enable students to express their views effectively and respond cogently to arguments with which they disagree. The Annual Inter-House English Debates 2012-13 were held at PISES on Wednesday, Jan. 2. The event kicked off with Muhammad Abdullah Amin of grade 7C reciting few verses from the Surah Al-Rehman followed by the English translation by Muzamil Hamid of grade 7B. The head boy, Wasif Safdar, and the deputy head boy, Muhammad Inzimam Tahir, took the responsibilities of being the presidents and hosts. The debaters from four houses of PISES – Jinnah House, Sir Syed House, Dr. Abdul Qadir House and Iqbal House – had put in a lot of efforts to perform well at the debates. The debating competition started with grades 5 and 6 speaking for and against the motion “Television is a leading cause of violence.” At the end of the juniors' debate Muhammad Muzamil of grade 5D entertained the audience by singing a national song. From the juniors category, Abdullah Khan from the Iqbal House bagged the first position while Emaan Ahmad from the Dr. Abdul Qadir House shared second position with Bilal Safdar of Sir Syed House whereas Ehaab stepped in third. The debaters from grades 7,8 and 9 came forward with their fiery arguments on the motion “War guarantees peace.” Anas Raza recited the kalam e Iqbal and mesmerized the listeners with his superb performance. Murad Gohar of Sir Syed House, Abdul Moeez Zulfiqar of Jinnah House and Abdul Manan Abid of Dr. Abdul Qadir House secured the first, second, and third positions respectively from the middle school. Students from grades 10 A1 and A2 delivered their valuable and balanced arguments on the topic “Media mislead the masses.” Muhammad Roozbik's enthralled the audience by playing a national song on a piano at the end of seniors' debate. Among the seniors, Rohaan Manzoor of Jinnah House, Ahsan Masood of Dr. Abdul Qadir House and Raza Ali of Iqbal House were respectively declared the first, second and third position holders. The chief guest of the day was Prof. Ghulam Sarwar Qureshi, who along with the acting principal Muhammad Tanveer and wing coordinator Muhammad Asif Syal gave away the prizes to the winners. The acting principal also presented a shield as a memento to the chief guest. Tanveer in his speech congratulated the wing coordinator and all the organizers of the event for hosting a commendable event. He also appreciated the preparation and hard work of debaters. Qureshi said: “All the students and teachers are related to me, they're part of my soul.” He highlighted the importance of speeches by quoting words and styles from the speeches of Quaid e Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah. He also gave the students very befitting tips, saying “speech is an important thing but it becomes more effective when it is coupled with good presentation and logic.” — SG
