Judges at the Ethnic Relations Commission (ERC) Inter-Secondary Schools Debating Competition said the competition between the Institute of Business Education (IBE) and Camille’s Institute of Business and Science Studies was “possibly one of the best” in the series.

According to an ERC press release, Chief Judge Aggrey Azore said both teams competed fiercely to earn a place in the second round of competition and “even among the members of each team, it was difficult to decide which student would be the best debater because of the outstanding nature of their presentations.” However, the IBE eventually conquered their competitors at the Friday session.

The ERC said the IBE and Camille’s Institute were the first two private schools to be included in its debating series and they debated the moot ‘The celebration of national festivals has the potential to unite the various ethnic groups in Guyana.’ Lead speaker of the IBE, the opposing team, Gopaul Sukhu, was applauded for his presentation of the team’s points however; his supporters Chandini Sugrim and Oma Devi Sukhu came in for higher praise from the judges for sustaining their team’s arguments logically and convincingly. Azore said although Camille’s Institute had a higher scoring rebuttal, Sugrim and Sukhu copped the victory for the IBE.

Camille’s Institute’s Kavita Singh led the proposition team while Marlene Kanhai and Candasy Willems were the supporting members. The judges said Singh’s presentation of Camille’s Institute’s rebuttal “was the finest they have heard in two years of judging ERC debates.” Azore commended her for her fluency and eloquence and the smoothness with which she attacked the opposition’s arguments and restated her team’s position on the moot.

The competition was hosted at the National Centre for Educational Resource Development. The release said the debate will continue after the end of term examinations with schools from Region Three, Five and Six competing for placements in the second round of the competition.