24 Sep 2017

Chobe district’s education regional operations director, Ms Lillian Matshameko says the Adopt-A-School initiative comes at a time when there is a concern on the decline of learner achievement as evidenced by the junior certificate examinations results for the past two years.

Speaking during an appreciation ceremony for stakeholders who have contributed through the initiative at Chobe Junior Secondary School recently, Ms Matshameko said teaching had to be learner-centred, which emphasised learning through activity, trial and error, exploration research and discovery.

Therefore, she said there was need for resources such as computers and Internet, Mathematical instruments and above all motivation so that they researched, explored and experimented on their own.

“Learner achievement is declining because learning needs and schools are evolving and so are the student themselves, so the entire information and communication landscapes have shifted and this shift will continue and therefore it is important to have partners fill in the gaps in terms of bringing learning resources and services adjustment,” she said.

She said basic education ministry launched the Adopt-A-School initiative to facilitate public and private sector participation in the delivery of quality education in public schools, to foster a better understanding of the school system and to create a sense of personal involvement between individuals, companies, organisations and schools.

The school’s Adopt-A-School committee chairperson, Mr Benny Phiri called on individuals, organisation and the community to continue assisting schools through the initiative, which was launched on November 2011.

He explained that schools faced many challenges that the government alone could not manage, hence partnerships in facilitating long term private sector participation in the delivery of quality education and training was crucial.

Mr Phiri said the initiative fostered a better understanding of the school’s system, improved school performance, culture and created a sense of personal involvement between the private sector and the school.

He said the school needed facilities such as caravans, multimedia projectors, computer lab, cushioned chairs, water storage tanks and many others.

For his part, Chobe Junior Secondary School head, Mr Nelson Litiho said as an institution they valued the involvement and contribution of all individuals as they believed it added value to the education system and children’s upbringing.

Mr Litiho said he believed in in the saying, it takes a village to raise a child, which meant that everyone had a role to play in the development and upbringing of students. ENDS