23 Jun 2014

The manager of Botswana Life Insurance in Francistown, Ms Sarah Mbanga has commended the cluster’s excellent performance in last year`s PSLE results.

Speaking during the awards ceremony at Donga Junior Secondary School on June 19, Ms Mbanga said the region obtained position one nationally and also obtained position two in the junior certificate examinations and BGCSE results.

She stated that as the North East Region, they needed to interface more with the community because they were part and parcel of schools.

In addition, Ms Mbanga said in that way, incidents of student indiscipline and public criticism of performance would be reduced. Furthermore, she said excellence was predicated on hard work, dedication, commitment and determination.

“I am informed that President Lt. Gen. Seretse Khama Ian Khama has come up with an initiative where those who excel are rewarded those who excel in their work places. This is a noble idea which I believe will go a long way in improving performance in schools,” Ms Mbanga said.

She, however, said she was aware that there has been a decline in the performance of schools nationally for the past three to four years. Ms Mbanga also said the excellence awards also motivated the recipients to go an extra mile, and challenges those who have not received the awards to work hard.

She applauded PTA`s, the regional director of the North East region for contributing immeasurably to success for their region. The day was celebrated under the Theme: “Value Addition- Building Block to Employees and Students Motivation,” which she said was a fitting theme for the occasion.

Donga CJSS was awarded P20 000 and a certificate for being the best school in the north east region and P10 000 for best improved school whilst the best overall candidates in primary and junior schools got prize awards of P10 000 and a certificate respectively. One of the best overall candidates, Goleba Lefatshe, who is under government sponsorship at Maruapula motivated students to aim higher in their studies. “The secret to excellence and success is hard work,” she said.

Donga councilor, Ben Mpotokwane encouraged other schools to benchmark from those that did well. He said pre-schools were still a big challenge as most parents cannot afford to enroll their children. However, government has come up with an initiative to introduce pre-school education for all minors. ENDS