Balochistan

UKHC holds Great Debate semi-final in Quetta

BUITEMS students Ali and Nazdana Saeed bag top positions

Our Correspondent January 08, 2019

BUITEMS Pro-vice Chancellor Dr Faisal Kakar awards a shield to the winner of the Great Debate competition organised by the British Council. PHOTO: EXPRESS

QUETTA/ISLAMABAD: The British High Commission held the Balochistan semi-final for its fourth annual Great Debate competition at the Balochistan University of Information Technology, Engineering and Management Sciences (BUITEMS) in Quetta on Monday.

The competition featured 26 students from seven universities in Quetta and was attended by senior members of academia and the media. At the end of an intense competition, Ali from BUITEMS was the winner while Nazdana Saeed from the same university was the runner-up.

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The Great Debate competition is taking place from December 2018 to February 2019 in five cities across Pakistan. Semi-final events have been held in Lahore, Karachi and Peshawar.

British High Commissioner Thomas Drew said, "I am delighted to have held our first ever Great Debate event in Quetta. I have made four visits to Balochistan in my time here and I am pleased that we have now brought our annual debating platform to the students of this wonderful city.

"Our themes for this year's Great Debate competition include trade, innovation, business and entrepreneurship which also serve as an important focus of our work with Pakistan in 2019. The UK is Pakistan's second largest export market overseas and we want to see trade increase further between our two countries. I look forward to welcoming the winner and runner-up from Balochistan to the final in Islamabad."

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According to a statement, the Great Debate is a debating competition for university students. There will be five semi-finals in five different cities - Islamabad, Lahore, Karachi, Peshawar and Quetta - involving students from over 100 leading universities across Pakistan and the winner and runner-up of each semi-final will compete in the final in Islamabad.

Winners and runners-up from the semi-finals will be given one year British Council digital library memberships. The winner and runner-up of the overall competition will receive a scholarship reward to contribute towards their tuition fees. (With additional input from PPI)