11 Mar 2015

Ditsweletse Junior Secondary School, originally created as a 12 stream school, is now running as an 18 stream school.

Answering a question in Parliament, the Assistant Minister of Education and Skills Development, Mr Moiseraela Goya said the school was not earmarked for expansion in the current project memorandum for schools. 

However, he said, the school was undergoing a renovation exercise due for completion by March 30. He said the ministry was working round the clock to ensure that science laboratories were used for the purpose intended and not as base rooms. 

However, he said it should be noted that the ministry has a shortfall of 200 classrooms and this is why in some instances science laboratories continue to serve as base rooms. Minister Goya further said his ministry saw the need and urgency to build more classrooms to release science laboratories from serving as base rooms. 

“As a short term measure, my ministry is in the process of securing and constructing prefabricated classrooms at all oversubscribed junior secondary schools. The exercise is expected to be completed in the second quarter of 2015/16 financial year”, he said.

Subject to availability of funds, the long term solution of constructing conventional classrooms will take place in due course, he told the House.

Boteti East MP, Mr Sethomo Lelatitswe had asked the minister if he is aware that Ditsweletse JSS was established in 1988 as a 12 stream and that currently it operates as an 18 stream school but no expansion or renovation has been done to the school. 

He therefore wanted to know when will the expansion and renovation be done so that the school meets its present demands and if the minister is aware that following the ministry’s directive that science laboratories should not be used as general classroom, that greatly increases the shortage of classrooms.

In view of the above, he asked whether the ministry does not see an urgent need to build classrooms to address the shortfall.  ENDS