18 Jun 2013

Government has spent about P116 million on teachers’ overtime allowance in the past financial year, education and skills development minister has said. 

Addressing a kgotla meeting in Hukuntsi on June 15, Dr Pelonomi Venson-Moitoi said a huge percentage of the amount was accumulated during the extra-curriculum activities.

She attributed teachers' high overtime accumulation to a possible lack of strict monitoring and supervision from school managements. She however appealed to head teachers to carefully monitor teachers’ overtime and ensure that they completed their duties within the stipulated working hours, if possible.

The minister raised concern over poor examination results and emphasised the need for pupils to attend pre-school before they could enroll with primary schools. She said  pre-school education was fundamental to a child’s education as it equipped them with the relevant aptitude and attitude that could be of great value by the time a child resumed formal education.

Dr Venson-Moitoi said the standard four attainment test which was the first level of national quality checkpoint meant to support mechanisms for continuous assessment and remedial teaching was used to assess the readiness for progression to higher level of education for pupils.

The minister said the standard four attainment test could also assist none performing students to obtain special education attention should it prove that they performed lowly, adding that it would ultimately improve the overall results at standard seven.

Dr Venson-Moitoi told residents that the ministry was keen to equip students with both theory and practical work to sustain themselves after completing their studies. She encouraged parents to play a voluntary role in their children’s education and not expect government to reward them for having an input in their children’s future.

Many parents, she said, thought that their responsibility in their children’s education stopped with the admission of their children at schools. Parents should constantly consult with the school authorities to cross check the progress of their children at schools, she added. ENDS