13 Sep 2017

The much awaited P80 million Mphuthe Junior Secondry School hostels in Letlhakeng are expected to be completed before the end of this year.

The school has been operating without any boarding facilities since its relocation from its old site which was experiencing irreparable cracks.

The lack of boarding facilities at the new school then forced boarding students to continue to occupy the hostels at the old school as they were not affected much by the cracking, while commuting daily on foot to the new school.

Students from the nearby villages were ferried to and fro by bus daily because the old hostel was of low capacity.

However, the community of Letlhakeng and the surrounding areas have never found peace with the arrangement. Numerous times in kgotla meetings and council forums, parents through  their civic representatives indicated that such an arrangement created room for delinquency.

Parents and councillors complained that the movement of students from the school to the hostels gave ample room for such students to engage in activities such as sexual and drug usage.

However, early last year the cries were finally answered when it was announced that the new school would have hostels constructed under the Economic Stimulus Programme.

The school head, Mr Lazarus Gadiinewe heaped praise on the decision by government to give his school the long overdue hostels and described the move as “sweet music to the ear.”

He said the move would help his school improve its academic performance, which has been of concern in recent years.

“Our research indicated that students ferried by bus from the nearby villages of Ditshegwane, Sesung and Metsibotlhoko perform poorly academically. This is because most of them are forced to wake up as early as 4am to prepare for school. This hardly gives them time to prepare something to eat so most of them come to school on an empty stomach,” he said.

Mr Gadiinewe also said the daily travelling took its toll on students, which ultimately affected their concentration in class.

He also indicated that because of different economic abilities of various households, some students could not study well after school due to lack of electricity.

“The construction of the hostels will therefore enable us to manage the students’ movement easily. The students will also have proper diet, water, electricity and time at their disposal and this will help them study properly and really boost their academic performance,” he said.

He said the lack of hostels forced management to escort students to the old hostels every morning and after school.

The project consists of four hostel blocks and staff houses, extension of the current administration block as well as laboratories for science, home economics and guidance and counselling which also comprised of a sick-bay.

Mr Gadiinewe said the hostels would have a carrying capacity of 960 students, as compared to the current hostels at the old school that only carry a total of just 71 students.

The project started May last year and is expected to be completed by end of this year.

The construction of the hostels is not only sweet music to the ears of the headmaster, but parents from the surrounding villages whose children will be served by the hostels are also in high moods.

Ms Waboraro Tsie, a parent from nearby Sesung, could not hide her joy when she heard the news.

“Pity my son would already have completed his junior school there when the hostels are completed, but nonetheless it is a good thing for our village.

Our children wake up as early as 4am in order to catch the bus that collects them, and that is too early for children,” she said.

She said the unfriendly hours and the daily journey meant that students ferried daily from the surrounding villages were tired most of the time when they returned from school, and that it was difficult for them to do their homework, especially in households that did not have electricity.

The hostel also brought a smile on the face of the village leadership  in Letlhakeng.

“The hostel is very welcome and it will assist in dealing with delinquency, especially that the students will now be with a matron and a boarding master. Apart from that, the hostel will also give students a chance to maximise their studying as they will have all the necessary resources needed,” said Kgosi Itsoseng Gaoonwe of Letlhakeng.

Kgosi Gaoonwe also said since the hostel would be a double story, it would add to the landscape of his village and make it appealing. He said the village would also have something to show of the Economic Stimulus Programme (ESP), especially that they were also expecting a primary hospital under the same programme. ENDS