The 16th Annual GCU Parliamentary Debating Championship, the largest and most prestigious parliamentary debates hosted by any educational institution, on Thursday kicked off at the Government College University Lahore. As many as 70 teams of orators from all over the country are contesting for coveted Urdu and English debates trophies at the five-day championship spread over eight rounds.
Orators exchanged fiery arguments and critical thought on topics, including "there should be no statutes of limitations crimes committed by intelligence agencies", "this House would exempt emerging economies from eco-friendly protocols" and "pharmaceutical companies should be run on non-profit basis", at the opening day of the championship.
Students representing educational institutions from small districts like Taxila, Larkana, Sialkot, D I Khan, Jhang, Sargodha and Jhang also rubbed shoulders with students of top educational institutions like LGS, LUMS, UET, PU, Beconhouse and Ghulam Ishaq Institute, Topi and show their talent skills in the arena of public speaking.
Talking to media about the parliamentary-style debating, GCU Debating Society Adviser Saddique Awan said that the history of international parliamentary debating goes back to the early 20th Century, when teams from Oxford University introduced it. In Pakistan, the parliamentary-style debating was introduced in schools, colleges and universities in 1993 and since then it has become very popular. In each parliamentary debate, there the two teams called the Government and Opposition. Government defends the topic while opposition opposes it," he added.
Only eight of total 70 teams would qualify for the finals of the 16th Annual GCU Parliamentary Debating Championship. Former Chief Justice Khawaja Muhammad Sharif will grace the finals as chief guest on Monday, March 21, 2011 in Bokhari Auditorium while GCU Vice-Chancellor Professor Dr Ikram-ul-Haq (Sitara-e-Imtiaz) would also be present on this occasion. A large number of distinguished Old Ravian debaters are also invited to attend the finals.
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