27 Jan 2016

Lekgaba Primary School head has commended the Francistown East constituency office for helping the school to get a businessman that adopted the school.

Speaking in a meeting addressed by the area MP, Mr Buti Billy on Tuesday, Ms Kgalalelo Williams said the arrangement by the constituency office lifted the morale of the school community.

She said with the P2 000 per month for two years the director of Clickwell Office Supplies, Mr Mallisetty Vijay Narasimha pledged to donate, the school would install shelves in its library and buy books.

Ms Williams said Mr Narasimha has also pledged to buy trees that would be planted in the school premises, and she pleaded with parents to avail themselves to assist in their planting.

She informed the audience that the school, which opened in 2012, scored an 86.8 per cent pass rate in its first Primary School Leaving Examinations (PSLE) in 2014 and last year it had a 91.3 per cent pass rate.

Furthermore, she applauded the parents of Pelotelele ward for their support in the education of their children, and she requested them to continue with the spirit in order to attain a 100 per cent pass rate this year.

Ms Williams also applauded her staff for always ensuring that the education of their pupils comes first despite the challenges they face.

The Ward Development Committee chairperson, Mr Eric Mabengano complained of cattle that roam the ward and requested for the number of children registered for reception class to be increased from 30 to 60.

A resident, Ms Khathazile Jack suggested that the government should not allow pupils who failed their PSLE to proceed to junior secondary.

She attributed the poor performance in Junior Certificate (JC) examinations to automatic promotion and she suggested that only those who got Grade D and below should be allowed to repeat.

Ms Loveness Moyo commended the government for the Tirelo Sechaba programme. She, however, said those who have to leave the programme after attaining 30 years were thrown back into the streets as they have no other place to go to.

Ms Moyo noted that when they joined the programme, they were promised certificates but after completing no certificate was issued to her.

Ms Monnawe Poifo commended the MP for introducing a group funeral cover in the constituency while Mr Oakantse Motsamai requested for a pedestrian bridge that crosses over from Ntshe into Monarch.

In response, the Ministry of Youth, Sport and Culture (MYSC) programmes officer, Ms Olebile Mbulai explained that certificates would be availed to those who completed their service.

Ms Mbulai noted that the MYSC headquarters was working on producing the certificates and that once they reach district offices, participants would be notified to come and collect them.

Earlier in his address, Mr Billy commended Pelotelele youth for attending kgotla meetings in large numbers and said it was a good sign because it denotes that the ward has a future.

He informed residents about the Economic Stimulus Programme (ESP) and that it would be used to address teacher’s houses backlog amongst others.

The MP urged residents to identify business opportunities in the manufacturing and tourism industries in order to benefit through ESP.

Proposing a vote of thanks, councillor Badubi Lekang said the pedestrian bridge was in the plan, and she further told residents that the roving torch would be in Francistown from March 23-25. ENDS