16 Feb 2015

Xakao Primary School management has dismissed reports by some parents that children at Xakao Rural Area Development Programme hostels are neglected and abused by care takers. 

Speaking in a meeting addressed by the North West District Council chairperson, Mr Reaboka Mbulawa, the school head, Ms Ngonda Setlhare said they were doing their best to mould the children into responsible citizens.

She said they admitted young pupils and management tried by all means to ensure they adapted to the school environment. Most pupils, she pointed out, absconded from school because they did not want to be disciplined when they misbehaved and also that they wanted to be fed meat on a daily basis. 

Ms Setlhare said pupils from Kaputara settlement were giving them a headache as they always sneaked out and went back home.

The hostel accommodates RADs children from the neighbouring settlements and 278 children stay in hostels with eight care takers and the matron. Normally, she said efforts were being made to trace pupils who absconded from school.Ms Setlhare revealed that they were shocked by the reports as they had been working hand in hand with parents.

She said last year they came up with an initiative to have some parents from the settlements stay in hostels as home fathers and mothers and the initiative worked well. She said it was unfortunate as they had to stop the initiative to pave way for hostel maintenance noting that the parents slept in study rooms. 

The school head believed that after completion of maintenance, the initiative would continue.

On other issues, Ms Setlhare decried shortage of accommodation for teachers and care takers noting that care takers were at some time accommodated in teachers’ houses and when a new teacher came in, they had to relocate and that caused conflict between them and management. Earlier on residents of Kaputura complained to the chairperson that their children were absconding from the hostels because of lack of parental care, abuse by care takers and poor feeding at the school.

Parents also complained that care takers disciplined children by beating them up hence they sneaked out. The matron, Ms Phetso Masaya also denied allegations by pupils that they were ill-treated. She said pupils at times absconded to play at the river and fetch wild fruits. She requested the council to assist with recreational equipment to keep them busy in the hostels.

She also requested the council to construct a dining hall for pupils noting that during rainy and windy season, they were forced to feed them in hostels. For his part, the council chairperson, Mr Mbulawa appealed to school management to work hand in hand with parents to solve pupils’ issues. He said their issues would be taken into consideration and see how best they could be assisted. ENDS