St Edwards Secondary School have emerged winners of the four school inter secondary school debate competition.
The debate which took place at the British Council auditorium was organized by the Sierra Leone Network on Small Arms (SLANSA) in collaboration with IBIS West Africa and Foundation for Security and Development in West Africa.
The participating schools were Freetown Secondary School for Girls (FSSG), Services Secondary School, Ahmadiyya Muslim Secondary School and St Edwards Secondary School.
The topic for the discussion was Government more than Civil Society is responsible for security of its citizens. The debate was moderated by Alice James from Action Aid, judged by Reverend LB Rogers Wright, Reverend Winston Ashcroft and Marilyn Palmer Secretary General of YWCA.
In his opening remarks, SLANSA Coordinator Abubakarr Sheriff said that his organization has engaged government at various levels and has deemed it fit to engage the youth who are the future leaders.
He added that this is the third time they have been conducting such a debate. The first one was held in Makeni, second in Bo and third in Freetown.
Debating for the topic, FSSG said they believe it is government that is responsible to provide security for its citizens. They argued that if government fails to protect its citizens the future generation will be incomplete.
St Edwards before delving into the topic defined key terms of the topic and they further added that indeed it is the government that is responsible to protect the lives and properties of its citizens. They maintained that one of the main responsibilities of the government is to protect its citizens from internal and external conflicts.
Services Secondary school said that government should ensure that rules and laws are obeyed by its citizens and to also provide the necessary needs of its citizen which they say will create peace in the country.
Ahmadiyya Muslim Secondary School said that government is responsible for the maintenance of law in the country. Arguing against the topic, three of the schools deviated completely from the topic and it was only St Edwards who managed to be on the right track.
At the end of the debate, the results which were read by the chief Judge Reverend LB Rogers Wright saw St Edwards scoring 1,999 points, followed by FSSG with 971 points, Ahmadiyya Muslim Secondary 898 and Services 872.
Certificates were presented to the schools and other prizes.
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