GIMPA Faculty of Law wins Inter-Schools Debate

By Iddi Yire, GNA
Accra, April 14, GNA - The Faculty of Law of the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA) has emerged the winners of the maiden 2016 GIMPA Inter-Schools Debate.

The event was organised for representatives of GIMPA's four Schools: The Faculty of Law, the School of Governance, the School of Technology and the Business School.

It was aimed at advancing sound argument on educative and intellectual discourse among the students.

The event was chaired by Justice Avril Johnson, an Appeal Court Judge, aimed at providing the platform for all schools to discuss and share ideas on topical issues concerning Ghana's educational system.

The Faculty of Law, represented by Mr Kwasi Appiah Okrah and Ms Nahaja Adam, had 88 points to carry the day. They were presented with a trophy and an undisclosed amount.

The School of Governance placed second with 69 points, while the School of Technology was third with 67 points. The Business School came fourth with 59 points.

The Faculty of Law argued against the topic: 'Ghana's Educational System As It Is Now Administered Has Failed'.

Mr Okrah, the principal speaker for Faculty of Law, made a comparative analysis between the current and the previous educational systems and why he thought the current system was the best.

He said the system was more decentralised with more creation of schools, the system recognised non formal education like vocational and technical institutions, which formed an integral part.

However, the standards for saying a system had failed should be the system's failure to achieve its objectives, he opined.

Mr Appiah Okrah said the Constitution and other enabling acts such as the Education Act (Act 778), showed how the current educational system was supposed to be administered.

He said, therefore, statistics clearly showed that the current administration was consistent with the aims and objectives of the inception of the system, and by that reason alone it could be said that the system had not failed.

In conclusion, he stated that the flaws of the system and described them as not perfect, however, he explained, education should be construed as an agent that was capable of growth and development.

'It is a process and we are getting there, the fact that it is not perfect does not mean it has failed.'

Professor Agyemang Badu Akosa, a renowned pathologist, and a former Director General of the Ghana Health Service, in his remarks, noted that the three other schools missed the central theme, therefore, only the Faculty of Law related its argument to the Constitution, Enabling Acts and Policies,

These, he said, were among factors that helped to administer a system.

Prof Akosa said most of the participants concentrated on the educational system only; however, the central theme was not about the failure of the system, 'but rather as it is now administered'.

He, therefore, advised the participants to note that 'as debaters arguments should be content-based, and not how vocal one is'.

'I hope that in subsequent debates, debaters would make their arguments in relation to the central theme; this is where the argument should rest,' he said.

Prof Akosa commended the organisers, the participants, and the four schools for the novelty.

In an interview with the GNA, Dr Jemima Nunoo, one of the organisers who is a lecturer at the GIMPA Business School, told the Ghana News Agency that the debate provided students the platform to express their argument on topical issues of national interest.

'The initiative aims at giving all the four schools of GIMPA the opportunity to learn and share information in a fun and engaging manner,' she stated.

Dr Nunoo said the inauguration of the inter-schools debate, hosted by the John Evans Atta Mills Centre for Law and Governance, would encourage students to conduct research.

He expressed the hope that the debate would be an annual event organised by not only the Centre, but also by the Administration of GIMPA.

GNA