Westcol College has been put on the map by three of their very own after they debated themselves into the top four spot in South Africa.
At the end of August, two Westcol students – one from the Randfontein campus and the other from the Krugersdorp West campus – represented Gauteng as well as their college during the Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) Students’ National Debate.
The debate was the first of its kind and drew students from colleges around South Africa together to debate among themselves.
Brenda Nkanbimde from the Randfontein campus and Oratile Manyedi from the Krugersdorp West Campus triumphed as the top two debaters at Westcol’s inter-campus debate competition, and were subsequently chosen to represent the College at provincial level.
In the Gauteng team, Oratile was chosen to be one of the three main speakers for the province, being responsible for the body of their argument. Brenda was the brains behind the operation, quickly constructing arguments while the debate was in session.
Oratile was selected as one of the top four speakers in the competition, making him one of the top four in South African TVET institutions. They had to speak on the difference between quality and access in expanding the TVET sector, which their coach, John Magocha, said was no easy task.
“It required a lot of research. They really put a lot of hard work into the debate. I am so proud of them,” John said.
This was the trio’s first visit to Durban and for the students, it was also the first time flying. Oratile said it was an honour to be chosen as one of the top four in the country. He explained that even if he hadn’t placed so well in the competition, the experience he had was unbelievable.
“It’s not often that I become emotional, but I cried. It was a great experience. I’d like to look into public speaking in the future,” he said. While he clearly shows skill at public speaking, Oratile is in fact an N6 Electrical Engineering student.
Brenda said she is proud that the Department of Education has taken steps to bring extra-curricular activities to colleges, especially Westcol.
“There’s not much to do other than study, so this is a great initiative and I would like to see it added on at our campus [Westcol Randfontein],” she said.
Of course, no great team is without support – and the Student Support Facilitator at Westcol Randfontein, Thandeka Swelinko, supported the trio all the way. Tony Fiorita, Westcol Randfontein Campus Manager said the achievement was the result of a great team effort and that it was a great pleasure to see how the students had grown.
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