Guwahati, Aug. 19: The British Council will organise a high-school debate, Debating Matters India, for schools in the Northeast, a media release said.

Launched in 2008, Guwahati will host one of the eight regional finals of the competition for the first time.

The team winning the Guwahati regional finals will travel to Chennai to participate in the three-day national finals from November 18 to 20.

The national winner will get an all-expenses paid trip to London to compete in a showcase debate with the UK Debating Matters Champion.

Supported by Shell Group of Companies India as title sponsors and Ratna Sagar Pvt. Limited as education partners, Debating Matters India is open to students of Class XI and XII.

The competition takes place in three stages. Firstly, an online elimination test (OET), which began on July 28, will continue till August 25.

To participate in the OET, schools will have to register online.

Each school has to register a six-member debate team along with a debate coordinator teacher right from the online elimination stage.

The second round is the regional finals which will be held in New Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Calcutta on September 27 followed by Chandigarh, Ahmedabad and Bangalore on September 29 and finally on September 30 in Guwahati.

At the end of the OET, 12 schools from the Northeast will face off in the first round of live debates in Guwahati.

The last stage is the national finals where eight schools from each regional finals will participate.

“An amazing experience for me. The best part was students’ interaction with experts from different fields,” said Mohit Srivastava, a student of DPS, Bangalore.