THENGWE High School in Mutale won the provincial final of the South African Agency for Science and Technology Advancement (Saasta) National School Debate Competition against 14 participating Limpopo high schools at Merensky High School in Tzaneen on Saturday.
Scientifically generated solutions to the drinking water challenges faced in South Africa and globally was debated by the teams and, for the first time, social media was incorporated into the competition, adding extra appeal and relevance to the experience of the participants.
Saasta managing director, Dr Jabu Nukeri, said the winning team would go on to compete against the eight other provincial winners in the national final that will take place in Johannesburg on December 4.
He said the competition aimed to encourage young people to address key issues around science and technology that were faced by their communities, through the medium of debate.
“Conceived and hosted by Saasta, a business unit of the National Research Foundation, the programme seeks to foster the confidence to speak about science in high school students from gr. 9 to gr. 11.
“It also gives participants the opportunity to develop research, critical thinking and information literacy skills, as well as the ability to work as a team to present logical, clear arguments,” he said.
He further explained that the 60 participating schools in the regional finals were chosen on the basis of their winning essays selected by Saasta. The topic of the essay was: How will the huge scientific investment in the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) affect our lives in South Africa?
“SKA is the world’s biggest telescope and will be co-located in South Africa and Australia,” he said.
“For the regional finals, students were given the following topic to research and debate: Do you think investment in nanotechnology research will provide a feasible solution to our water challenges?”
“Nanotechnology, with support from the field of crystallography in identifying and characterising materials, is one of the technologies being explored to address the growing challenge of providing clean, safe drinking water to citizens, an issue that is top of mind particularly since the recent water shortages in Gauteng.
“The International Science theme for 2014 is Crystallography,” Nukeri explained..
“Throughout the day, judges evaluated debaters for their participation, including responses to arguments and questions within discussions.
“The winning teams from each region will go on to participate in the finals in December.
“In addition to increasing their knowledge and gaining experience in the debating arena, the past two years’ winners were awarded a trip to New York, which included scientific exploration as well as tourism.
“According to Saasta, the prize for 2014 will be a surprise,” he said.
He added that Saasta’s goal was to steer young South African minds towards careers in science, engineering, technology and innovation.
