Question

Your school is planning to close down two vocational courses at + two level as the enrolment has not been very encouraging. However, the school has decided to hold a debate concerning this issue. The team that is able to convince the students will be the deciding factor for the courses.

Answer 1

Holding of the debate at class level to be done as desired above. The debate (for and against) is given below :
Education should be Skill Based rather than Knowledge Based (for the motion)

Worthy Chairperson, Secretary and dear students

Today I, Ajit, stand before you to speak for the motion on 'Education shou ld be skill based rather than knowledge based. You'll agree with me that in today's world skill based education is the need of the hour. We all need various services to get on well with life. If you come out of the classrooms of our educational  institutions. you'll realize that our studying   conventional economics, history or other conventional courses are just meaningless They don't get us suitable jobs.

On the other hand. as a result of globalization. I  personally feel. new sectors in both manufacturing and  service industries have opened up. These are hospitality, fashion technology, film and television, information technology, retail, healthcare etc. Then if we look at other vocational courses we find a large number of service providing jobs. These, you'll see, can make us employable.

The present day education is knowledge based. I am of the opinion that such a system of education is just  not sufficient. Our country is developing At this juncture, we need the services of plumbers, designers, welders. tailors, machinists, electricians. foundry men ·etc. Their jobs are technical. The vocational institutions have a major role in providing us such a manpower. I submit that you'll see yourself that developed countries need these skilled personnel in a large number. These skills are the need of the hour.  We don't make welders. foundry men, technicians etc, in conventional knowledge based colleges and universities. So I am of the fi rm opinion that seeing the today world and its needs we need skill based
education and not knowledge based one. I, therefore. support the motion.

Thank you very much.

Education should be Skill Based rather than Knowledge Based
(against the motion)
Worthy Chairperson, Secretary and dear students

Today, I Amit, stand before you to speak against the motion on 'Education should be skill based rather than knowledge based'. I am of the opinion that we don't need all the educat ion to be skill based as is implied in the topic. Then we have a sufficient number of vocatio nal institut ions. These have been providing the necessary skill based education.

My knowledgeable friend has beautifully analysed and asserted that educat ion should be skill based. You  can yourself imagine what the future would be if we have skilled manpower without the personnel having knowledge based educat ion. I submit that I personally feel that knowledge based education is a must for a  developing country like ours. We need managers. bureaucrats, professionals of a high order who can plan  and design things seeing the needs of the t imes. These professionals, I am of the opinion. can't be from  plumbers or technicians. They should be coming f rom colleges and universit ies and technical education
institutions. These are llTs, llMs etc, where knowledge based education is imparted. 

I personally feel that the country's progress today is more because of the personnel produced by these  institutions rather than vocational institutions. I don't deny the role and importance of this vocational  personnel. But I am sorry to say that they are in a supplementary position to them. If there is a kind of  linkage between the two, you will see that we needn't be afraid of anything Country's all round progress shall stand fully ensured then. So I support the view that education should be knowledge based. I, therefore,  oppose the motion.

Thank you very much.