26 Jun 2017

The acting director of the Department of Educational Planning and Research Services, Mr Shadrack Majwabe says donations can also be used as a way of instilling the spirit of compassion on children.

Speaking at Serinane where the department was donating clothing and stationery to schools and residents of Serinane and Mantshwabisi respectively, Mr Majwabe said it was important for children to be nurtured to know that inheritance does not necessarily mean what one accumulates when parents pass away, but rather what they become afterwards.

He said as a department, they took a decision to donate not only to students, but residents as well as they believe that education does not only start at the classroom, but also needs a conducive home environment.

Mr Majwabe also stressed the need for Batswana to help each other out, saying there were harsh life realities where some students faced challenges that impedes their efforts at learning.

The director of Education for Kweneng Region, Mr Benson Rauwe said such donations should be seen to bring change in the pupils’ lives and their academic performance.

Also, he advised school heads that good academic results should start as low as reception classes rather than focusing on the final years.

He therefore urged school heads to always share results on a monthly basis with parents and the village leadership so that any challenges could be ironed out.

For her part, Mantshwabisi Primary School head, Ms Sethunya Mmusi said the donation would come in handy for her school, which depended heavily on the assistance from the council.

She said out of a total enrolment of 547 students at her school, 334 of them resided in the school hostels and were provided for by the council.

She said in this era where government was facing financial challenges, it sometimes becomes a burden on the shoulders of the council to provide for such kids.

She assured the donors that all would be done to ensure the donations go to the rightful recipients. Serinane Primary School head, Ms Sabasadi Monthusi also indicated that her school had for years not been performing well because of the challenges that students face, such as lack of clothing.

She also listed other challenges as skipping school for a long time by students and coming back after months, which lead to them performing poorly as they would have lagged behind on the syllabus. She also said some of the students travelled long distances of about 10 km to access school. ENDS