20 Apr 2016

The Ministry of Education and Skills Development project of Target 20 000 is progressing well. Addressing Gabane residents during a kgotla meeting on Tuesday, Assistant Minister of Education and Skills Development, Mr Fidelis Molao encouraged the youth to enrol into the programme. 

He noted that out of the 20 000 youth targeted under the programme, 11 000 have applied and that 8 000 have already enrolled. 

He also noted that the project targeted youth aged 35 years and below, adding that the focus was on sectors such as agriculture, tourism, ICT, business services, mining and construction. Mr Molao said those who had been previously sponsored by the government and were still unemployed qualified. 

Gabane-Mmankgodi MP, Major General Pius Mokgware said information about the programme has not been forthcoming, as they were previously informed that the programme has already enroled the required number of students. 

However, he encouraged the youth to apply for the programme in order to refine their skills and to be more marketable. 

For his part, Kgosi Seeletso Pule of Gabane decried poor parenting, saying it contributes to youth delinquency and poor academic results. 

Kgosi Pule said they were worried about poor results in the village, and that a committee has been set up to investigate the cause of the problem. 

He said their findings pointed out that parents contributed to the problem as they never made children account for their daily activities. He added that pupils as young as 13 years have admitted to being sexually active and indulging in alcohol and drugs. 

Kgosi Pule said the problem was made worse by parents who give children huge sums of money unnecessarily. ENDS