The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration and the Ghana Education Service, in collaboration with the Think Africa Forum, are organising intra and inter-regional school debates across the country from Saturday June 1, to Saturday September 21, 2013.

The debates are part of activities marking this year’s OAU/AU @50 anniversary celebrations.

A statement issued by the Ministry of Information and Media Relations and copied to the Ghana News Agency at the weekend, said two Senior High Schools had been selected from each of the 10 Regions in the country to participate in the Intra- Regional Debate, thus giving a total of 20Schools and 40 contestants.

Each school would be represented by two contestants, one of whom would be the main speaker and the other a support speaker, it said, adding that a neutral Assembly Hall of a Senior High School in each Region would be chosen as venues for the Intra-Regional competitions. The various GNAT Regional Halls would serve as venues for the Inter-Regional and Semi-Final debates.

The statement mentioned Dormaa Senior High School and Mansen Senior High Scool as the two selected to represent Brong Ahafo Region, with Somanya Senior High/Technical School and Koforidua Senior High/Technical School as representatives of the Eastern Region.

The Volta Region would be represented by Agortime Senior High School and Mawuko Girls Senior High School, while the Bolgatanga Technical Institute and Bolgatanga Senior High School would represent the Upper East Region in the competition.

The statement further indicated that Lawra Senior High School and Queen of Peace Senior High School had been selected from the Upper West Region, while St. Charles Senior High School and Northern Business Senior High School would represent the Northern Region.

For the Central Region, Mfantsiman Senior High School and Ghana National Senior High School were selected, while Takoradi Senior High School and Sekondi College would represent the Western Region.

The Ashanti Region would be represented by T.I. Ahamadiyya Senior High School and Kumasi Senior High School, with West Africa Senior High School and Accra Academy Senior High School representing the Greater Accra Region.

“Ten winning Schools from the Intra-Regional, each presenting two contestants, will proceed to the next level, which will be the Inter-Regional. This will involve 10 Schools and 20 contestants”, the statement added.

It further indicated that five winning Schools with two contestants each would be in the Semi-finals, presenting a total of 10 contestants who, at this stage, would be joined by two contestants from a School for the Physically Challenged.

The grand finale would take place on Saturday, September 21, 2013 as part of the highlights for the commemoration of Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah’s birthday.

It would be a round-table debate involving two winning schools from the semi-finals, each represented by two contestants, who would be joined by two another two from a School for the Physically Challenged.

The statement gave the topic for the Intra-Regional debate as, “Is Pan-Africanism relevant in the 21st Century and beyond?”, while that of the Inter- Regional debate is, “Has Pan-Africanism and Renaissance a future?”

The topic for the Semi-final stage of the debates is, “Is Pan-Africanism relevant in the pursuit and completion of the Unfinished Africa Agenda?”, with that of the final being, “Should Pan-Africanism be introduced as a core subject in Second-Cycle Educational Institutions in Africa?”

According to the statement, a school could decide at the Semi-finals stage of the debate to replace one it’s two contestants, and that each school could be accompanied by a support team of not more than 40 students and two teachers.