The National SAASTA Schools Debates final was held on the 2 October 2018 at the Albert Lithuli Auditorium at the National Research Foundation in Pretoria. The venue was abuzz as teams of debaters took turns to step up to the podium to advocate their stance to the panel of adjudicators and the audience who was present on the day.
The topic of the final debate required teams to thoughtfully consider their assigned perspective – applications and benefit, economic, socio-cultural and political perspectives. The topic, “Can the investment of public resources in mega-science projects such as the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) prepare South Africa and Africa for the fourth industrial revolution and contribute to the eradication of poverty and sustainable development in the country and continent?”, produced a lively debate.
The adjudicators found Crawford College in Pretoria to be the most well rounded debaters, presenting well-balanced content and persuasive arguments, and they were crowned the 2018 National SAASTA Schools Debates Champions. The team has won an all-expenses paid trip for a science tour overseas to be taken by the team early next year. Merrifield Preparatory School and College from the Eastern Cape came in second place and Port Shepstone High School from Kwa-Zulu Natal took third position.
SAASTA congratulates these top teams of the 2018 National Schools Debates.