05 Aug 2015

Hunhukwe Primary School head teacher, Mr Otshile Marumole, has commended Rural Area Dwellers (RADs) hostel students for outclassing their day scholar counterparts. 

Speaking during the Hunhukwe RADs hostel stakeholders’ tour, Mr Marumole said it was pleasing to note that RADs hostels students achieved high marks when compared to day scholars, despite the challenge of being separated from their parents at a younger age. 

Mr Marumole noted that the school management had introduced the evening study sessions through which students would have the opportunity to have a one on one interaction with their teachers as a way of enhancing the learning process. 

Boarding students, he said, not only excelled academically but were also the pride of the school in extra-curriculum activities such as sports and athletics as they had in the past represented the region in national competition. 

He stated that the school had an enrollment of 310 students, of which 199 were boarding students from Kang, Kgainyane and other settlements in Kgalagadi north. 

He attributed the achievement to decent hostel living conditions and excellent mentorship from students’ care takers, matron and teachers.

He, however, condemned students for vandalising school property highlighting that government used a lot money to repair and renovate intentionally damaged properties at schools. “The issue of vandalising property and misuse need to be attended to as early as possible as more money which could be channeled to developments is now been used on the maintenance of damaged property,” he noted. 

He indicated the importance of optimizing the use of resources as the government has a limited resources base. 

Meanwhile, parents questioned students’ social welfare and care giving at the hostel, saying they had received disturbing reports of negligence and bullying from students residing in hostel. 

One of concerned parents stated that even though they were grateful of government efforts to provide education facilities to rural dwellers, students continued to escape from RADs hostels citing lack of recreational facilities and bullying by other students.

A lot of RADs children, he alleged, were not used to life away from their maternal guidance therefore turn to miss out on their natural home environment and struggle to adapt to boarding life “A lot of student orientation need to be done before separating RADs children’s from their families to prepare them for hostel life as doing so might reduce the rates of students escapes from hostels,” he said. 

He added that some RADs hostels pupils also complained of lack of social basic amenities like clothing and toiletry supplies from the Social and Community Development officials. 

In response, the Hukuntsi Sub-district Council social and community development official, Mr Tshepiso Molefhe said his department was equally concerned by the high number of students escaping from the RADs hostels, noting that they had put all measures in place. 

Regarding lack of toiletry and school uniform supplies, Mr Molefhe said the council provides school uniforms to RADs students every two years while private clothing is supplied regularly. Furthermore, he said it was a challenge to lure parents to visit school premises because of the distance between the school and its catchment areas. Ends