Manovikas English Medium School
ISC – Debate Competition

The ISC Debate Competition was held on 28 th March 2023, in the Auditorium. The event began
at 1:45 p.m. and ended at 3:00 p.m. It was judged by ma’am Maria Norman, Principal of
secondary and higher secondary and Tr. Sandra D’Costa, in-charge of the Manovikas CSTI.
The Competition took place amongst the students of Class XII and the participants were:
the team speaking (FOR): Edelyn Cardozo
Khushi Patel
Pearl Kuriyan and
Samuel Costa
the team speaking (AGAINST): Ninoshka Fernandes
Kiera Dias
Nidhi Pednekar and
Eric Gracias
The topic for the debate was “Obsession with the virtual world has made the young
generation lose touch with reality.”
The rules of the debate were explained by Sir. Akshay Borkar and the debate was conducted
successfully, after which the judges addressed the participants and the audience which consisted
of Class IX, XII and Economics students of Class X.
The Team speaking FOR the topic explained that the virtual world, including social media and
online gaming, has become so immersive that young people are spending more and more time in
this virtual world at the expense of engaging with the real world. This could have negative
consequences on their social skills, ability to form relationships, and their overall mental health.
There were also points put forth stating the statistical data and highlighted several laws practised
in some countries, which restrict over-use of virtual world such as the social media, online
gaming, etc.
Meanwhile, the Team speaking AGAINST the topic, defended saying that the virtual world is
just another form of reality, and that young people are simply adapting to the changing landscape
of technology and communication. They also said that social media provides a platform for the
ones who are highly discriminated in the society as they gave examples of the communities such
as the LGBTQ+.
The constant rebuttal between both the teams played a very interesting part as it helped in
keeping the experience of the audience very engaged.

The winners for the Debate Competition were as follows:
First Place: Khushi Patel
Second Place: Nidhi Pednekar
Third Place: Samuel Costa and Eric Gracias (this position was shared by two winners)
Best Speaker (FOR): Khushi Patel
Best Speaker (AGAINST): Nidhi Pednekar
The debate was conducted successfully as all the participants followed the rules of the debate
and the students, as an audience got the opportunity to learn and be aware of the current affairs
and scenarios of the constantly changing world, we live in.

Report submitted by:
Mohammad Sadaf Ali