16 Jan 2018

Parents in Nokaneng have been urged to have a hand in the education of their children by actively working with teachers for better results.

Addressing a kgotla meeting in the village, Member of Parliament for Ngami, Mr Thato Kwerepe said education was crucial in people’s lives, hence it was the responsibility of both teachers and parents to ensure that children get good results.

Mr Kwerepe, who is also Assistant Minister for Presidential Affairs, Governance and Public Administration, said the Parent Teacher Association should be utilised at Nokaneng Primary School, while he encouraged parents to be active in the assoication.

However, in a meeting with the school staff, he commended them for the improved results, though he said they were not pleasing.

The 2017 Primary School Leaving Examinations pass rate at Nokaneng have seen an increase of 40 per cent compared to 34.9 per cent the previous year.

Still at the school, Mr Kwerepe noted that staff welfare such as proper accommodation could positively impact on children’s results as teachers were likely to perform better with suitable accommodation.

He also talked about overstaying of some teachers at the school, saying that it was one factor that could affect the teacher’s performance as they do not develop.

The MP also discouraged peripheral transfers, noting that they were unfair to some teachers and that they could kill someone psychologically.

Teachers on acting appointments, Mr Kwerepe said should not be made to do so for a very long time without being appointed to the post as this would be unfair.

Meanwhile, school head, Ms Agnes Makuku decried shortage of both exercise and text books at the school, something she said impacted negatively in both teachers’ and learners’ performances.

Breakthrough kit was also said to be inadequate at Nokaneng Primary School while this made it difficult for new pupils to grasp some concepts.

Meanwhile, the villagers also appealed for a second primary school in Nokaneng as the village’s population has grown over the years.

Currently, the school has a total of about 800 children.

On a different matter, people complained about serious water shortage in some areas of Ngami and Okavango.

They pleaded with the MP to attend to the issue as a matter of urgency. However, a response from Water Utilities Corporation is that the water treatment plant in Sepopa that supply villages of Ngami including Nokaneng and Habu was outdated, hence a new plant was needed.

It was reported that the  plant could not clean enough water to supply the ever growing population or the supply does not meet the demand.

Elephants terrorising in the area was another issue that the community complained about, expressing fear that their lives were increasingly becoming in danger because of the growing population of these animals in residential areas.

Elephants were reported to be destroying crops at the fields, injuring and even killing people.

An official from the Department of Wildlife and National Parks told residents that if injured by a wild animal and survive and the person seeks medical attention from a government health facility, there was no compensation in terms of money.

But if medical attention is sought from a private hospital,  she said government pays 50 per cent of the bill. On the issue of damage caused by wild animals, be it killing of livestock or destruction at ploughing fields, she said so far the department had spent P3.8 million as compensation for 1 308 cases, while 823 cases were awaiting payment as funds for compensation were depleted. ENDS