27 Aug 2014

Education is a life journey that both the young and the old have to embark on to better their lives.


Speaking at a mini literacy day commemoration in Lobatse on  August  23 Sbrana Psychiatric Hospital superintendent, Dr Mpho Thula said it was therefore, not only the young who were supposed to be seen going through doors of education facilities.


He said platforms such as the Out of school Education Training should optimally be taken advantage of by the elderly if they were to equip themselves with information and knowledge that will play a pivotal role in their lives.


Dr Mpho said, when envisaged as a catalyst of lifelong learning process, education has shown to contribute effectively to poverty reduction and sustainable development. Adult education in particular lays the foundation for improving the lives of the poor by enhancing the quality of health, raising livelihoods and fostering the ability to actively participate in society, he said.


“Adult education has also proven to contribute to one’s overall happiness and general being”, he said.
He emphasized that education is not only a matter of pen and paper, but rather a process of skills development which enables one to fit well in the society they live in.

He said education is an eye opener and gives a person dignity and the confidence to play a pivotal developmental role within their community.
 For this country to realise the Vision 2016 pillar of an educated and informed nation, Dr Thula said it needs to have educated and informed individuals who are forging forward with its development.


He encouraged especially men who are still lagging behind in utilizing the out of school programmes, never to shy away, but rather, utilise them for their own benefit.


Giving a testimony at the commemoration, one adult learner, Mr Albert Makwepa told the gathering that, the fact that he got employed, and yet could not read or write was kind of frustrating to him.
In 1994, he enrolled in the then adult education programme.


He said, though work commitment as a drier, especially going on trips hampered his studies. He never gave up as he was determined do learn from the best and was on the day graduating in Level 2 of the programme.


He intends to retire from his formal job at Geological Surveys and venture into entrepreneurship with confidence as he has now learnt the basic education skills and will not be cheated by any one.


The day was celebrated under the theme, “Literacy and sustainable development”.
Giving the objectives of the day, Principal Education Officer, Mr Goitsemodimo Mmusi said the day’s celebrations are aimed at recognising the importance of the out of school education among both the young and the elderly. 


Mr Mmusi said the day is also meant for learners from various learning facilities to interact and learn from each other.
It is on such days that student’s arts and crafts products and exhibited, marketed and sold to people and organizations attending the occasion, he said.


The Southern region, which encompasses Goodhope, Moshupa, Jwaneng and Mabutsane so far has 1 880 learners enrolled under the Adult Basic Education Program (ABEP) out of which 1 286 are females, while 594 are males.


The region has 65 income generating projects and 13 children enrolled under a pilot project for the out of school children based in Jwaneng. Ends