OGBOMOSO: Maryland Catholic Gram Sch edges out Emmanuel Agboola BGS by 0.5pt to emerge winner in debate competition

OGBOMOSO: Maryland Catholic Gram Sch edges out Emmanuel Agboola BGS by 0.5pt to emerge winner in debate competition

It was a keenly contested debate competition with the winner emerging by just 0.5 points.

Bolaji DAVID

Maryland Catholic Grammar School Ogbomoso (MARCGSO) Tuesday emerged the winner of the inaugural Feed2Empower Debate Competition held in Ogbomoso, beating Emmanuel Agboola Baptist Grammar School (EABGS) to second position and Anglican Model College (AMCO) to third position. While Maryland garnered 22 points, EABGS notched 21.5 points, clinching the top prize by a slim margin of 0.5 marks.

Marvelous Ogundeyi of Emmanuel Agboola Baptist Grammar School soaring high during her presentation

The keenly contested inter-school debate, which had as theme, “The Role of Technology in Advancing the Educational Sector in Nigeria,” according to the organizers, was held to foster intellectual growth among secondary school students in the region. Out of the 20 schools invited for the maiden edition, 17, made up of 8 public and 9 private secondary schools, participated in the rigorous intellectual exercise.

The coordinator of Feed2Empower, Mr. Bello Jude, in a chat with ogbomosoinsightonline.com asserted that the competition was designed not as a one-time event but as a continuous platform for academic excellence. He emphasized that the primary goal was to sharpen students’ research capabilities to ensure they could compete favourably with their peers on a global scale.

“The monetary prizes are just a compensation; the main aim is to build students’ research skills so they can compete with other students globally. The students were impressive; they talked about many points, some of which the government could do well to use,” Mr. Jude stated.

To ensure transparency and fairness, the winners were selected strictly based on merit by a neutral panel of judges comprising representatives from the Oyo state Ministry of Education, Science and Technology.

The winners at the conclusion of the rounds were Oyelami Israel Temiloye (Maryland Catholic Grammar School), Ogundeyi Marvelous (Emmanuel Agboola Baptist Grammar School) and Oladoye Christopher (Anglican Model College).

In recognition of their stellar performances, the organizers presented cash awards to the top three finishers. And beyond that, the organization provided consolatory gifts for other participants, along with Certificates of Participation.