Arua Public triumphs in West Nile Green Schools debate

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Arua Public Secondary School, located in the heart of Arua city, emerged victorious in the second edition of the Green Schools debate competition. The school outperformed Mvara SS, which secured second place, and Bishop Angelo Tarantino, which came in third.

The debate, held at Mvara SS on Monday, featured nine schools from the West Nile region, focusing on climate change mitigation and environmental protection. Originally, ten schools were selected to participate.

Students of Mvara SS gather to listen to a debate competition from schools that partcipated. (Photo by Robert Ariaka).

With excitement and pride, the students of Arua Public Secondary School committed to continuing their use of biogas as an alternative to firewood, thereby reducing deforestation.

The three schools, Arua Public SS, Mvara SS and Bishop Angelo Tarantino, will represent West Nile in the national competition at a date yet to be announced.

The Green Schools debate competition has 100 schools selected across the country with each region having 10 schools participating.

Speaking after the results were announced, Ore Aitasi, a student of Arua Public said they will have to embrace keeping the school compound green and control disposal of plastic waste and recycle.

“A clean mind lives in a clean environment. We shall be able to control littering compounds and use the bottles to make buckets and conserve the environment,” said an overjoyed Aitasi who added the triumph has been their dream as a team.

Jovenus Anyole, a student of Arua Public said the Green School debate is not all about winning, but learning lessons on managing environmental degradation, adding we ought to recycle plastics into new materials and keep the environment clean.

At Arua Public, Anyole says their schools embraced the use of locally made biogas for cooking and this has reduced the use of firewood in the school. With over 2,000 students, the school is able to produce biogas from human waste and use it for cooking food.

“We used to use over 10 trucks of firewood in a term but now the rate of firewood has reduced,” Anyole said.

The move to curb climatic changes resulting from various human activities that have resulted in drastic natural disasters, prolonged drought and unpredictable rains has been embraced by students who participated in a debate competition organised by Vision Group in partnership the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO), funded by Swedish Government.

Margret Kizza is an S.5 student of Ediofe Girls Secondary School in Arua city and implores the public to consider environmental concerns as a priority before considering economic development.

She notes that industrial growth comes with huge environmental destruction calling on the schools and public to plant trees and grow them to curb soil erosion, flooding, landslides and prolonged drought.

Kizza says she will be able to replicate the knowledge back home, asking the government to enhance the need for environmental protection and embark on massive tree growing.

She cites Ediofe Girls where the learners have planted trees and promoted greening advising schools to adopt use of biogas and electricity as alternative sources of energy for cooking in schools to reduce massive tree cutting for firewood.

Liberty Ayikoru, a student of Mvara Secondary School appreciated the positive impact of debate in the schools with the learners embracing recycling of plastic waste, tree planting and establishing a tree farm to manage the issue of cooking.

Ayikoru believes students will use the knowledge to teach others about environmental protection in schools. She proposes schools to set wood lots to avoid destroying natural tree cover and consider the use of biogas as an alternative source of energy.

Sharon Giramia, a student of Muni Girls, said she was naïve about the level of destruction caused by climatic change, but the knowledge will help her embark on innovative ways of protecting the environment.

A Student of Muni Girls Secondary presenting her points during a debate competition in Mvara Secondary School on Monday. (Photo By Robert Ariaka)

She implores schools to turn human waste into energy and reduce the use of firewood in schools as a source of energy.

“I commend the Green School Initiative and Go Green campaign where plastic waste management has made keeping the school green a priority in the school.”

At Muni Girls, a number of trees have been planted in the school to green the environment. She advises the government to borrow a leaf from other developed countries on environmental protection.

Sidney Miria, the coordinator for the Green Schools Initiative at Vision Group, said this is the second edition of the Green Schools climate change debate with 10 schools in West Nile and 10 schools in the Karamoja region. One school from West Nile failed to turn up.

The Head teacher Mvara SS, Eliakim Matua, awards a certificate to the Winners, Arua Public SS, for the green schools debate as Sydney Miria witnesses. (Photo By Robert Ariaka)

He said learners are innovative and displayed high skills in environmental protection and climate change mitigation.

Three schools will be picked from the two regions. The winner, first runner-up up and second runner-up will be taken to a national competition in Kampala.

“The reason for climatic change debate topics is to inculcate knowledge in learners to identify solutions aimed at dealing with the problem of climate change,” he said.

“We are focusing on schools because the young people need the ideas which can be used as they grow into responsible citizens. The vehicle of debate makes them think critically and take actions with solutions and adaptive measures in their communities,” Miria added.