Jamshedpur, July 14: Loyola School in Jamshedpur hosted the preliminary round of the Frank Anthony Memorial All‑India Inter‑School Debate Competition 2025 on Monday, under the aegis of the Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations (CISCE), New Delhi.
Eleven CISCE‑affiliated schools from Jharkhand and Odisha competed on the motion: “AI in Education will widen the gap between privileged and underprivileged students.” Each two‑member team fielded one speaker for the motion and one against, and were judged on clarity, content, delivery and rebuttal.
Shreya Mohanty of Loyola School, Bhubaneswar, was awarded Best Speaker, while Pragya Singh of Sacred Heart Convent School finished as first runner‑up. Mohanty, together with Aditya Anurag Biswal, also led their team to victory and will advance to the competition’s Selection Round.
The event was presided over by a panel of judges comprising Father Mukti Clarence, Professor Sanjeev Varshney and Ms. Sangeeta Jha, with Mr. Siddhartha Sen serving as moderator.
Established in memory of educationist and parliamentarian Frank Anthony (1908–1993), the annual competition celebrates public speaking and critical thinking. The preliminary round concluded with all participants receiving certificates of participation, and the National Anthem.
