** SABIS® PPP Schools Impress Public in Debate Club Event **

May 15, 2015

Eighteen (18) students in the Debate Club from the Fakhir Mergasori International School (FMIS) and Sarwaran International
School – two Public-Private Partnership (PPP) schools that are part of the SABIS® Network in Kurdistan – held an impressive
event at the 10th Erbil International Book Fair in the Kurdish capital. The students from each school openly debated topics
including environmental pollution and the benefits of reading to enrich the mind.
On Saturday, April 4, 2015, students from grades 6-8 stood on stage in front of a crowd of spectators and engaged in lively
debate. Each debate topic had a time limit of 20 minutes, and a period of 30 minutes was left at the end of the event for the
audience members to ask questions. The audience was comprised of journalists, professors, and highly-educated individuals
whose provoking questions were answered by the students with poise and confidence.
“The audience was more than impressed by the students’ top-notch debating techniques,” said Mahmoud Omar, Student Life
Coordinator at Sarwaran International School. “It goes without saying that this Debate Club event has shown the public the
true quality of SABIS® Network PPP schools in Kurdistan.”
Audience gathered to watch the debate
FMIS and Sarwaran are among seven SABIS® public-private-partnership (PPP) schools operating throughout Kurdistan.
These schools were established based on a vision of Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani to expand public access to highquality
education. Students attending SABIS® PPP schools in Kurdistan are admitted based on financial need and do not pay
tuition. Students admitted to Sarwaran International School are all sons or daughters of martyrs. Currently, SABIS® PPP
schools in Kurdistan educate more than 4,500 students.
For more information about FMIS, visit pppkurdistan-sabis.net/fakhir-mergasori and for additional information about
Sarwaran, visit pppkurdistan-sabis.net/sarwaran. To learn more about the SABIS® PPP project in Kurdistan and view “Today,
for Tomorrow,” a video about the project, visit http://sab.is/SB1S8X.
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Indeed, Debate Club students who participated in the event made
a positive impression on the spectators, many of whom praised
the students on social media platforms following the event. One
university professor who was present at the event commented, “I
can see a new, talented, well-educated generation.”
Next school year, FMIS and Sarwaran are planning a repeat
performance at the annual book fair. There is no debating that
that future events will be a success