08 Mar 2017

The Ministry of Tertiary Education, Research Science and Technology has embarked on a strategy of turning around the educational sector through a five year programme called Multiple Path Way.
Multiple Path Way strategy is a mixture of conventional classroom environment and the creativity aspect. It embraces people of various talents and capabilities.
Assistant Minister of Tertiary Education, Research Science and Technology, Fidelis Molao said in an interview at an annual dance show titled, Steppin’ out Dance Show 2017 that the ministry had embarked on a strategy of turning around the educational sector so that there could be a mixture of conventional classrooms offering creative aspects of strategy.
Molao said it was necessary that the youth were exposed to various talents for them to easily choose their career path, noting that an event such as the one was commendable.
“I am impressed and I believe that this organisation needs support from all stakeholders in the education sector,” he said.
Molao further said the Human Resources Development Council, also among others, had the mandate to define leadership values and philosophies through self-development exercise.
For his part the director of Adams Night Camps and Vinnette Media, Patrick Shai from South Africa said he believed that in the arts, South Africa and Botswana were one people because of commonalities the two countries share.
Shai, who was the guest speaker said in terms of language and culture, the two nations share the desire to tell stories as families of the broader African continent.
“Africa calls upon us to be brave and embrace one another; it is in this respect that Botswana played a major role during the days of apartheid in South Africa by providing refuge for people who ran away and provided safety for the liberation movement,” he said.
Shai, who is also an actor and gender activist said Steppin’ out Dance Show was a very important project because it focused on developing the African child, through entertainment media.
“It challenges what I call stereo-typical euro-centric impression of Africa. This is to say that the world perceived Africa as a dark continent,” he said.
A Motswana dance legend, Kelly Dingalo of La Danse Panier Dance Studio said the event was organised by a dance studio christened, La Danse Panier Dance. Its core business is to provide children from ages of three and a half years with different types of dance classes covering ballroom, Latin American dance, hip hop, contemporary, free style and ballet.
According to Dingalo, it was a platform, which avails to children, dances that celebrated unique ethnic and cultural traditions and also provided physical, developmental and artistic benefits to children.
Through their rendition, La Danse Panier helps toddlers and youth develop a positive lifelong attitude about staying active and healthy from a young age, she said.
She further said it fostered young dancers to develop essential social and networking skills through interaction with other students, inculcating core values and attributes as teamwork, communication, trust and cooperation as much as instilling a sense of discipline and purpose.
“Our intention is to build up our activities and assist government instil sense of discipline amongst the kids and as well to offer the third stream within the education sector, being performing arts on top of the mainstream comprehensive schooling and technical and vocational education,” she said. ENDS