The Pentecost Senior High School (PENSEC) was declared the ultimate winner of the New Juaben South Youth Parliament maiden edition Inter-High School debate, themed: “Building Youth Voices Through Accountable Governance.”
The participating schools were Koforidua Secondary Technical School (SECTECH), New Juaben Senior High School (NJUASCO), Pentecost Senior High School (PENSEC), and Oti Boateng Senior High School (OBOSS).
PENSEC and OBOSS advanced to the grand finale, where PENSEC won by six points to clinch the ultimate.
The debate centered on the following issues:
1. Parents and teachers who are responsible for instilling discipline in children.
2. The use of social media in addressing national issues.
3. Should the youth be included in governance?
At the end of the contest, Pentecost Senior High School garnered 66 points against Oti Boateng Senior High School’s 60 points.
Speaking to journalists, the Right Honourable Speaker of the New Juaben South Youth Parliament, Emmanuel Asare, said the debate aimed to give the youth a platform to have their voices heard by the country’s leadership.
According to him, it is about time leaders of the country opened their doors to the youth, listened to their concerns, and factored them into decision-making to help contribute to nation-building.
Referencing the popular saying that the youth are the future leaders, he expressed a contrary view, arguing that the youth are the leaders now and are already in charge of affairs.
Rt. Hon. Speaker Asare lamented the low number of youth in Ghana’s Parliament, noting that at least 40% should have been represented.
He expressed dissatisfaction about the older generation for not granting the youth the opportunity to occupy such positions and bring fresh ideas to develop the country, something he described as pathetic.
For their part, some of the contestants from PENSEC, Etu Emmanuella, Antwi Augustina, and Osei Sarfoa expressed their excitement and gave thanks to God for helping them win the competition.
“Prior to the Inter-SHS debate, our competitors, most especially SECTECH, were bragging that they would win, but our Headmaster, Elder Peter Atta Gyamfi, prayed with us before coming into the auditorium, and lo and behold, we were declared winners of the 2025 maiden edition of the New Juaben South Inter-SHS debate,” they added.
The Chairperson of the program, Daasebreyere of the New Juaben Traditional Area, Akosua Asiedua Boateng, applauded the New Juaben South Youth Parliament for organizing such a program for Senior High Schools in the New Juaben South Municipal Assembly.
She noted that it enabled students to debate the aforementioned topics and national challenges, and to propose brilliant ideas to address them.
She urged the organizers to extend the program to the tertiary level until the voices of the youth reach the top hierarchy of the country to address growing challenges.
By// Kontihen Kofi Oboh.
Source// Obohnewsonline.com.
Obohnewsonline 