UAE: Teachers win debate on what marks their performance

UAE: Teachers win debate on what marks their performance

Dubai: As many as 24 teachers from 12 GEMS Education schools in the UAE competed in the second edition of the ‘Madam Mariamma Varkey Commemorative Debate for Teachers’ instituted in memory of Mariamma Varkey, a pioneer in the UAE’s education sector and founder of the first school under GEMS Education Group. With the tagline ‘Argue, Agitate, Arrive,’ the debate was hosted by the winners of the inaugural edition, GEMS Our Own Indian School (OOIS), Dubai. The debate was over the motion ‘The only indicator of a teacher’s performance is the student’s test scores’. Juanita Gonsalves of GEMS Our Own English High School, Sharjah - Boys Branch, clinched the title of the Best Speaker for the motion while Annika Jisu Babu from GEMS Modern Academy in Dubai was adjudged the Best Speaker against the motion. Both won an iPad along with trophies. Lifting the rolling trophy this year was the team from GEMS Our Own English High School, Sharjah - Boys branch, which will host the third edition of the debate. Lalitha Suresh, principal, GEMS Our Own Indian School, Dubai, whose team organised the event, said: “It was indeed an excellent way to celebrate the life and work of Madam Varkey,