21 Sep 2015

Stakeholder and community involvement in the country’s education system is important as it can improve the quality of education. 

Speaking at the 30^th anniversary of Montshiwa Junior Secondary School in Pitsane, AON chief executive officer, Dr Thapelo Matsheka said it was only when all stakeholders participate in the running of education that the declining academic performance could improve. 

Dr Matsheka encouraged parents to participate in their children’s education, saying this could have profound effects on their performance. 

Limited parental participation in children’s education, he said, negatively affects children’s performance. He said educational matters were no longer the preserve of educators only, but the responsibility of society to ensure that children receive education for sustainable development. 

He said the government was doing all it could to make considerable investment and efforts to push forward educational reforms with the aim of improving it. 

This, he said, was evident as the government spends 30 per cent of its ministerial allocation on education. He said the government’s continued provision of quality and modern educational facilities was an undisputable determination to fulfill the ideals of Vision 2016, which among others advocates for the transformation of Botswana into an educated and informed society. 

He also encouraged students to have a desire for knowledge, saying such desire was a dire factor to academic excellence. 

He said as future leaders, students must be in the forefront in ensuring that the noble ideals of Vision 2016 were achieved. 

“Certainly this can be achieved if we truly surrender to, and embrace the values of hard work, self discipline, perseverance and demonstrate our determination to serve the nation,” he said. 

This, however, he said, depends on student’s ability to have a personal vision for self development and aligning their vision to the national vision.

“It is important to dream and strive to realise your dreams,” he said. 

Giving a motivational talk, Dr Bashi Mothusi, who is a former student and now a lecturer at the University of Botswana, encouraged students to believe in themselves, stay focused and to work hard.  He told students that everyone who was determined and works hard ultimately achieves their goal. He said success was not about getting favours, but working hard to achieve. 

Dr Mothusi also encouraged teachers that despite the undesirable conditions that they work under, they should not give up in life, but rather work towards self development and not only rely on the government to improve their lives.  The school head said his school was faced with the challenge of students walking long distances to school. 

He said the school was a catchment area for students from nine villages. This, he said, posed a challenge as most of the students were not performing well. 

The school head said the school has experienced a drop in academic results as it attained a 22 per cent ABC pass in the last academic year. 

The anniversary was celebrated under the theme: Three decades of inspiration in pursuit of academic excellence and global competitiveness. The anniversary was coupled with a prize giving ceremony. Ends