Bhaktapur, the smallest city in Nepal and one of its most historically significant stands in stark contrast to its larger neighbour, Kathmandu. Here, in the quiet, tiled streets that cars are not allowed to pass through, it’s possible to pause, take a breath, and reflect on the first week of Debate Mate’s first International Programme since 2019.
Before the COVID-19 pandemic struck, Debate Mate had run nine hugely successful summer programmes in Nepal in consecutive years. It has been one of the great pleasures of the 10th edition of the programme in 2024 to see that the relationships established in that time remain strong, and Debate Mate has left a sizeable impression in the communities where we have worked. Whether it is through seeing Debate Mate rosettes and tote bags adorning the walls of the hostels and bars of Thamel in Kathmandu or through talking to the teachers, who still hold a superb understanding of our work, the team have felt a warm Nepalese welcome, thus far, and owe a significant debt to teams that have come before us.
As in all previous years, the 2024 Nepal programme is working with the Samata Shiksha Niketan (bamboo) schools, an institution that delivers a superb standard of education in English at the cost of $1 per month for their students in several different countries. The organisation runs some of the cheapest private schools in the world and provides brilliant opportunities to needy families, aligning perfectly with Debate Mate’s mission. We have worked in Kathmandu on this year’s programme and will deliver programmes in Bhaktapur and Pokhara before the programme culminates in a Grand Final event with the top-scoring students from all regions.
Last Monday was our first day of teaching in Nepal. Despite the team’s collective abundance of experience teaching the Debate Mate curriculum in the UK, nerves and jitters were felt alongside excitement inside the taxi during the rush hour of Kathmandu on the way to the school.
However, immediately, what was so striking was the moment that we stepped out of the taxi and the warm welcome from all the students at the school. We were greeted with an endless chain of namaste, smiles and waves, alongside a series of personal conversations with groups of students genuinely interested in getting to know us as we were to know them. This ritual was repeated every morning at the school. My personal favourite moment was being invited into the girls’ traditional hand-clapping circle game, where we would all clap in unison. At the same time, the same dance move travelled around the circle before the next person introduced a new move. The circle would grow and grow and attract audiences from all over the school. Being part of a practice that felt so characteristic of the school was a real pleasure and privilege for us mentors.
Classes began at 10.30am with each mentor taking a group of either year 8, year 9 or year 10s. In true Debate Mate style, we kicked off with the game ‘Where Do You Stand’, where students are asked to move to either the agree or disagree side of the room after hearing a statement such as ‘momos are the best Nepali food’ or ‘school uniform should be banned’. The lesson continued with establishing the importance of providing reasons to support your views in the ‘Balloon Debate’ where we had the likes of Mohammad Ali, the Prime Minister of Nepal, and a social worker convince the audience who should survive in the sinking balloon. After a very short break – the students were defiant against the proposed 10 minutes, rushing back to the classroom early – style was introduced. Games in this part of the curriculum encourage students to use eye contact and hand gestures when they speak and speak loudly and clearly.
Day Two introduced structure to the students’ speeches, with PEEL (Point, Explanation, Evidence and Link) and rebuttal being the two key objectives. These core skills were implemented in the ‘Alley Rebuttal’ game, where students could practise responding to the opposing speaker’s point with a rebuttal before making a new point. It was amazing to see the students develop their own flair when responding to rebuttals after feeling confident enough to go beyond the set structures provided to them.
The international programme sets out to teach the fundamentals of debating three days before the school’s competition. Day Three, therefore, focused on understanding the specific roles of the four speakers and the practicalities of a formal debate. Furthermore, the explanation of PERMS significantly elevated the quality of debate by helping students come up with more advanced and nuanced points by thinking about the motion’s political, economic/environmental, religious, moral and social impacts.
Once the day of the competition had finally arrived, the atmosphere at the school was electric. Each mentor had selected six students from their class to represent them, equipped with their team names and, most importantly, their team chants. Buzzing with energy and elation, teams ran out of their classrooms after the win of their debates to find their mentors to share their success. Seeing my team, ‘The Risk Takers,’ so excited to share their news with me with such pride on their faces is something that I will cherish forever. Indeed, I found it remarkable that in such a short space of time, simply only three teaching days, students who had struggled to stand in front of the class and give a developed reason why they, like Momos, were now participating in debates equal to the level of those in the UK. In addition to allowing them to participate in a debate, the skills these students have developed will benefit them profoundly in their future endeavours as they exit the programme with the ability to express their views with clarity, confidence and charisma.
I also found it remarkable how much of a connection with the students was established in such a short space of time. From moments of struggling to understand one another from a language point of view to laughing about my lack of natural Nepali accent, real bonds were created between the students and mentors. The multiple cards personally touched me, and presents I received from my students, including a student, Rojina, writing out the entirety of their school song ( I had mentioned I loved it ) in three ways – Nepali, Nepali in English script and its English translation. The Kathmandu students were a special group of young people, and I look forward to reuniting with them when we’re back in the capital for the Grand Final!
Week 1 by Dale & Daria
