06 Aug 2017

Assistant Minister of Basic Education, Mr Moiseraele Goya has advised Matsha College students to take their studies seriously.

He urged them to always aim high during his tour of the college on August 4.

Mr Goya said for the past years government was concerned about the deteriorating public school performances

He said government spent a lot of money to create conducive learning environments for students, and that they should up their game in order to build a knowledgeable workforce for the benefit of growing the country’s economy in future.

He said many parents and society depended on teachers to transform their children into constructive thinkers and responsible citizens.

He added that it also expected them not only to provide education and training, but also to promote students social and emotional development.

Mr Goya said parental involvement could not be over emphasised, and that parents should have interest in the performance of their children.

He said a parent has to have keen interest in what the child was learning, how they were performing, and on how they could assist to make it easier and better for both the students and the teacher.

He described education as a “sustainable inheritance” unlike cattle and other properties that could be inherited from parents.

He noted that cattle were prone to Foot and Mouth Disease and even theft, but that with education no one could rob them of it.

Furthermore, he noted that in 2016 the school achieved 20 per cent pass rate, and he appealed to them to make 2017 a different year by attaining nothing less than 50 per cent.

He also called for respect and coordination between teachers, students and parents for the betterment of the children’s education.

He also condemned vandalism of school properties, saying it had become a culture in most schools.

Commenting on the school dining hall that was burned to ashes by students in 2016, he said the Ministry of Infrastructure, Science and Technology was working round the clock to renovate the dining hall.

He advised that school properties should be taken care of so that the coming generations would utilise them as well.

He added that they have to find them in good condition, and urged students to desist from vandalising school properties as they were wasting taxpayers’ money.

He urged parents to teach children morals, and that when students vandalise school properties, parents should be held accountable.

He also urged them to desist from indulging in drugs and substance abuse.

He said they would affect their developing bodies as well as distract them from focusing on their studies.

For his part, the school head, Mr Tshokologo Dineo said the school was faced with undesirable behaviour from students as they burnt the school’s dining hall to ashes.

He said 13 students were dismissed for the damaged P8.2 million structure, but that due to collaboration between the school management and teachers, students had changed their rebellious behaviour.

Mr Dineo said during the first term they had about 37 rebellions in the school, but that in the second term the numbers had reduced to six, and was hopeful that by end of year, they would have recorded zero cases of such students. ENDS