Before India gained independence, Hura Higher Secondary School was established in 1946. A local resident, Jitendranath Kar, played a major role in setting up the institution by donating nearly 15 bighas of his family’s land for the school. With further contributions from education-loving residents of the area, several classrooms were built.
In 1949, Hura High School received official recognition from the Bihar Board. Later, in 1959, the school came under the West Bengal Board of Secondary Education. Higher Secondary (HS) classes were introduced in the institution in the year 2000. Along with regular academic subjects, the school also offers opportunities for students to pursue vocational courses.
In today’s rapidly evolving technological world, many students have access to mobile phones and digital platforms. Artificial Intelligence (AI) has become widely used across various fields. Keeping this changing landscape in mind, a debate was organised at the school under the initiative of the newspaper Ei Samay. The topic of the debate was whether artificial intelligence is damaging the job market.
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The debate saw strong arguments from both sides. Four Class XII science students, Prapti Mandal, Bhagyashree Mandal, Nandita Chattopadhyay and Nivedita Rakshit spoke in favour of the motion. Meanwhile, four Class XI students-Kunal Mahato, Arnab Mandal, Amar Mahatye and Soumyajit Kundu- argued against it.
Those speaking in favour of the motion said that tasks that earlier required five workers can now be handled by a single person with the help of AI. They cited a Goldman Sachs report, which states that around 300 million jobs worldwide could be affected by AI in the next decade. They also referred to the World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs Report 2025, which says that although AI may create around 97 million new jobs, these roles will demand advanced skills that may remain out of reach for many people.
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On the other hand, the opposing team argued that technological changes have always reshaped the nature of work. Just as the industrial revolution and the rise of computers created new opportunities and skills, AI is bringing another similar transformation. According to them, although about 85 million jobs could disappear due to AI, around 97 million new roles may emerge. They also pointed out that many people are already working in fields such as robotics, data science and content creation. If people adapt to new technologies, AI could eventually become a powerful tool rather than a threat.
The debate was judged by three professors from Lalpur Mahatma Gandhi College: Rahul Chakraborty, Kalyan Senapati and Debashis Bakshi. After listening to both sides, the judges said the topic had been presented with strong and thoughtful arguments from both teams. They concluded that neither side clearly outperformed the other and declared both teams joint winners of the debate.
