22 Aug 2017

Mahalapye Sub-council chairperson, Mr Tassman Cebani has called on councillors and the village leadership to work together to curb students indiscipline.

Officially opening the Mahalapye Sub-council meeting on Monday, Mr Cebani said the cases include dodging of lessons, fighting and use of habit forming substances.

He said schools have reported that the use of habit forming substances was perpetuated by street vendors selling by the school gates.

He pleaded with them to unite and find ways to address the issues.Mr Cebani also noted that cases of pregnancies were on the rise in most schools, adding that 20 cases had been reported and that perpetrators were members of society, as none of the students were impregnated by fellow students.

Furthermore, he noted that Shoshong Senior Secondary School was due for cyclic maintenance, and that it had not been done due to unavailability of funds.

He also said Mowana Junior Secondary School has a challenge of shortage of toilets. He noted that the school has eight girl toilets against 346 students, adding that it has adverse health implications.

On the academic performance of primary schools last year, Mr Cebani noted that they all performed above average, but said performance was far below average for both junior and senior schools.

He added that the sub region continued to monitor and support schools through interventions such as the pastoral policy and hand holding.

He said the reception class programme still attracted a lot of learners, but that they were unable to enroll all leaners due to shortage of classroom accommodation.

Mr Cebani said they had consulted with Parents Teachers Associations to find alternative classroom accommodation such as churches and community halls to expand the programme.

He said the sub-region appreciates the importance of developing talent and skills from a young age therefore, and that they would continue to identify and develop talent through participation in different sporting and performing art competitions.ENDS