30 Oct 2017

Students have been implored to make education a priority and desist from destructive behaviours and habits.

Assistant Minister of Local Government and Rural Development, Ms Botlogile Tshireletso made this call during Kudumatse Primary School 40th anniversary and prize giving ceremony in Kudumatse on Friday.

She said it was a pity that many students indulged in drugs and delinquent activities, which affected their studies, resulting in lower marks.

“Over the years, government through the education sector has simplified things for learners by building more schools, improving technology and making other developments  that  have made education easily accessible by all,” she said.

She noted that compared to the olden days when schools where few and there were no developments, students could be doing everything in their power to improve their results.

Ms Tshireletso thus encouraged them to work harder now to live better lives in the future.

“For you to do better at school you should develop the habit of reading so as to learn and understand what you are taught at school,” she said

She also implored parents to monitor their children very closely, reminding them of their role in moulding their children.

She also advised parents to avoid doing bad things like taking drugs, drinking alcohol and fighting in front of their children as they could easily copy those habits.

Ms Tshireletso explained that young as they were, they were still keen to explore a lot of things and could not differentiate between right and wrong.

“Children’s behaviour should not only be left to teachers because everyone should be accountable in building tomorrow’s leaders, who are also responsible citizens,” she noted.

Further, Ms Tshireletso applauded the management of Kudumatse Primary School, former teachers and head teachers for coming this far.

She said 40 years of existence on its own was a remarkable achievement, adding that truly the best things in life come through persistence.

She noted that she was informed that their pass rate for 2016 was 51.9 per cent, which was slightly above pass mark, encouraging them to aim to do better and do away with mediocre performance.

She said this should be a call for them to double their efforts, starting from this year and setting their goals high enough to inspire students.

‘While I acknowledge that there is a challenge to produce good results, I encourage you to work harder until you are counted among the top,’ she said.

For his part, Makoro Brick and Tiles human resource manager, Mr Kennedy Ncube applauded Kudumatse Primary School for the 40 years of existence.

Mr Ncube said despite the school getting lower marks in the past, they should start afresh by working hard to improve their results.

He explained that in the olden days pupils did well despite living in hostile environments, but children of today have everything at their disposal and should therefore strive to do better.

He noted that the education journey required all to be on board, being children, parents and teachers so as to achieve desired results.

Mr Ncube advised teachers that they were the changing agents and catalyst of education and they should always strive to do their best, come up with yearly plans, be committed and show professionalism in their noble duty.

He also advised parents and community leaders to take part in their children’s education, instill discipline, support them in line with what they want to be and to continuously visit the school to see what their children are doing.

He said as parents they should make sure that they support their children and raise them in such a manner that they would be aware of the bad things happening around them.

He said they should teach them to be responsible people who are accountable for their actions. ENDS