Esteemed adjudicators, Guests, Fellow Debaters, Ladies and Gentlemen Good morning to one

and all, this house believes that schools don't need to have separate and distinct facilities for the

members of the LGBTQIA communities.  We, in this house firmly believe that this proposition

will serve the following benefits: 

First, the establishment of distinct LGBTQIA++ facilities is not and never will be an assurance

of safety for the LGBTQIA++ members. Instead it could be a venue for potential commission of

discrimination and division. Division in this argument means to part a group into several

sections. These separate facilities create further segregation from the rest of the non-LGBT

student population and would ultimately create more divide and friction. What LGBTQIA++

communities need is an inclusion from the learning environment. This inclusion cannot be

achieved with the presence of distinct facilities for them. LGBTQIA++ is not special people with

special rights. They are normal people possessing the same rights as that of any human being so

why should they be treated like they are ostracized and should have their own space in schools

that must promote inclusivity of learners of all genders. Let us remember that schools are made

to teach every student to respect everyone in their environment but how can we let the school be

the setting of unpleasant events. Unpleasant events where a student, specifically LGBTQ

students, gets bullied and discriminated against. Where they feel that they belong and that they

are left out, and having another facility adds up to it. It creates a barrier among the students that

will greatly affect how they move around the school premises.

Friends, Ladies and Gentlemen what the LGBTQIA++ students need is for every student in the

school to be educated enough to respect their classmates regardless of their gender. LGBTQIA+
+ learners need not a facility but acceptance from the school community. A distinct facility

cannot guarantee mutual respect to the LGBTQIA++ members from the school environment.

Second, distinct LGBTQIA++ facilities will only put the safety of the LGBTQIA++ learners at

risk. Safety is often cited as the central defence of the LGBT-learning community. But safety is

a greatest drawback. An LGBT-only facility would heighten the risk of targeted violence or

vandalism. Everyone who passes through the facilities doors would be forced to come out in a

potentially very public way -- a risk that students might not be considering in the moment they

sign up for what they hope will be a perfectly safe learning environment. Segregation will only

lead to more victimization; it will not solve any problems.

We all hope and long for a world in which there is no risk associated with publicly announcing

oneself as LGBT. Unfortunately, we don’t yet live in that world. Does establishing separate

facility and social circles for people who do and don’t identify as LGBT help us closer to that

world we all hope for? Definitely NOT… Thus we stand by our firm opposition of saying that

LGBTQIA++ facilities are not beneficial. Thank You.

Second, the facilities are not that important compared to the existing problem of missing

textbooks that may affect students’ quality learning. According to an article in Imbalife entitled 7

Key Issues And Problems Of Philippine Education, The textbook problem is even more serious.

A survey done in preparation for a World Bank education loan found that the pupil-textbook

ratio in the public elementary schools is 10:1 and 79% of the textbooks are more than 5 years

old. This situation has persisted for many years. This shows how schools need to build and

provide sets of facilities for the comfortability of ALL students whether they are male or female.

In this way, the schools can provide comfortability to all students that will allow quality learning

to take place. Hence, this house believes that there are several projects that the schools need to

focus on except the facilities. Students complain because of the missing pages of their textbooks

and that missing page could change their views. This is due to the oldness of the books that was

passed from one generation to another. 

This problem might be a simple problem to the teachers but it really is a complicated problem for

the learners. How can we study effectively if we don’t have any textbooks that could help us

learn?