06 Jun 2017

The Assistant Minister of Basic Education Mr Moiseraele Goya has applauded teachers, parents and Rachele Primary School Class of 2016 for turning around the school, which was described by many as the cradle of enlightenment in Ga-Ngwaketse.

Mr Goya said during an appreciation ceremony for the feat achieved by the school which, not so long ago, was counted among the lowest achievers countrywide with a paltry 55 per cent in 2012.

He said achieving 94.7 per cent within a space of four years has proved beyond any shadow of doubt that it was indeed possible for any school to achieve quality results if teachers, learners and parents pulled together in the same direction.

Mr Goya said it was clear that hardwork, dedication and unity of purpose had paid the school off.

Mr Goya quashed claims from some quarters that there was very little secondary school teachers could do to inspire learners who had failed PSLE to coast through Junior Certificate examinations.

Mr Goya nonetheless, conceded that some schools were still faced with shortage of resources but encouraged teachers to do more with less. He assured teachers that government would continue creating a conducive environment to enable them to perform their job.

He cited the pre-school programme as one of the initiatives aimed at laying a solid foundation for learners at a critical stage of development. “And once again I want to appreciate that you achieved this feat sticking to the basic ways of teaching.I encourage everybody to revert to the basics of teaching,”he said.

The school head Ms Tshupetso said the school had managed only 55 per cent when she took charge in 2012 and got 57, 93, 72 and 94.7 for the years that followed. Ms Tshupetso attributed her success to team work. She said she made stakeholders especially parents appreciate that teachers alone would never produce results without their support.  

For her part, Ms Gaongalelwe thanked the school leadership for affording her and her husband the opportunity to contribute to the learners’ development the best they could.

She said it was easy to mould the children because they used the word of God to guide them.She also vowed to track the learners’ performance until they completed Form five and further donated gifts to all of them.

As to how they made it, class teacher Ms Nakisani Molefe said her capacity to work beyond the threshold, dedication, discipline and prayer were her recipe for success.

Her counterpart Ms Esther Molefhi however advised teachers to use the comparative advantage they have to create a positive, lasting impact on learners. “Ask yourself whether you are creating a criminal who will steal from you tommorrow or someone you will be proud to have groomed,” she said.

PTA chairperson Mr Pako Ramaselwana for his part thanked teachers, parents and learners for changing the fortunes of the school in the shortest time possible.He revealed that no so long ago, many pupils were being transferred from the school due to poor results.

Kgosi Goboletswe Ketsitlile had earlier on said the results befitted the school which he described as the first in Ga-Ngwaketse. He said RPS which is named after the late Mr Kgosikobo Chelenyane who was the first qualified teacher and inugural headteacher of the school. ENDS