02 Mar 2016

Assistant Minister of Education and Skills Development, Mr Moiseraela Goya has assured residents of Takatokwane that Mahupu Unified Secondary School will open doors for its first Form Four intake next Tuesday.

Addressing a kgotla meeting in the village recently, My Goya said the opening of the school had to be delayed by two weeks in order to perform some finishing touches to phase one of the project.

He, however, gave assurance that students would not lag behind in their syllabus as the ministry has planned to cut the school’s second and third term vacations by five days each to make up for the lost time. He said all the necessary components of phase one such as classes, labs, teacher’s quarters and drainage systems have been completed.

Mr Goya also urged residents to take care of the school structures so that they could last longer. He also informed them that parents from the area were free to bring back their children whom they had sent to other schools pending the opening of Mahupu Unified School.

Mr Goya also informed residents that challenges such as shortage of classrooms and teachers accommodation in other schools in the village would be addressed through the Economic Stimulus Programme.

He said it was the duty of parents to ensure that students do not dodge classes, and also urged them to attend Parents Teachers Association meetings to discuss their concerns with teachers.

The Village Development Committee chairperson, Ms Annah Diatla had reported of shortage of accommodation and classrooms around schools in the village. She also raised concern on the tendency by students, especially those of Mahupu Junior Secondary School and the local brigade to dodge classes.

In his comment, a resident of the village, Mr Tsibego Seharane said the government should ensure that ministries were headed by ministers whose qualifications were commensurate with those ministries.

He said in that way, ministers would be able to properly supervise the professionals under them. He also raised suspicion that phase one of the school may not be completed on time.

In his welcome remarks, Kgosi Makgabana Tsiane raised concern on the academic performance of schools across the country, wondering if it was because the three stakeholders being learners, parents and government do not work together.

He said it was embarrassing to learn that some parents refuse to assist in the education of their children. 

For his part, the area Member of Parliament, Mr Ngaka Ngaka appreciated the government’s decision to bring one of the only two unified schools in the country to their area.

He said it would address the challenge they have always faced of students from the area travelling long distances for their senior secondary education. He also urged parents to raise their children in the Christian faith, saying he has noted that most students who misbehave were as a result of their family upbringing rather than poor management at schools.

He said good upbringing would also help them embrace education. Ends