08 Mar 2017

Education inspectorate team from the Ministry of Basic Education has called on parents to initiate and organise educatioal tours for their children and not to only rely on teachers for such activities.

The inspectorate team said this during a Parents Teachers’ Association meeting in Molepolole.  
Principal education officer, Mr Molefe Mongale said it was about time, parents take part in ensuring that their children received relevant and improved learning approaches such as educational trips to better Primary School Leaving Examinations (PSLE)  results.

Students, he said would be exposed to other areas, which were on their syllabus during educational trips.
Therefore, he said educational trips could reinforce what teachers had taught in classes.

 Also, he said they could enhance curriculum delivery for primary school learning environment.
“When children visit a place they have never seen before, it can be advantageous to students who are less fortunate and don’t have the opportunity to travel. Therefore, it creates retention in such a way that the type of memories that educational trips create, helps children retain information for longer periods,” he said.

 Another principal education officer, Mr Mokwadi Tese said since the introduction of PSLE commitment contract, results had improved.
Through the inititiave, he said education officers signed a memorandum of agreement with students on their target setting mark, and they ensure that students stick to their commitment by doing relevant monitoring for every term.

 “Students who failed to meet their target are taken through discussions to account for their results,” he said.
After the PSLE commitment activity in 2014, he said all the 11 primary schools in Kweneng North inspectorate area had exceeded the 50 per cent pass rate except for one school, which dropped to 46.2 per cent last year.

One of the parents, Ms Mampho Leeuw applauded the need for educational trips saying it would give their children the chance to learn and experience new things, which were vital for educational benefits.

She also pointed out that there was need for leisure activities and ball sports at Kealeboga Primary School to avoid boredom, which could lead to indulging in sexual relations, drugs and alcohol.
Ms Leeuw said parents must create a room for friendship with their children, thus increasing the possibilities of understanding them well. She said they should give themselves time to play with them as a way of giving them attention and a sense of belonging.

Another parent, Mr Otlhomeng Elemetswe encouraged fathers to be responsible parents by taking part in their children’s education.
Mr Elemetswe also urged parents to refrain from spoiling their children with luxurious materials, such as expensive cell phones and IPADs, which consume their time.  ENDS