29 Jan 2018

Assistant Minister of Basic Education, Mr Moiseraele Goya has commended Orapa Junior Secondary School for producing good results and scooping position one at 77.1 per cent in the 2017 Junior Certificate Examinations.

Mr Goya said this recently at an event to congratulate good performance by the school.

He noted that Orapa JSS had made the country proud given that their performance had been consistent.

Schools country-wide, he said, were facing challenges ranging from shortage of classrooms, accommodation, science laboratories and textbooks, among others.

Orapa JSS teachers, he said were a different lot because despite the said inadequacies, they committed to teaching and learning processes.

The aim, he said, was to reduce the number of officers at head office to assist schools in the districts and sub-districts, pointing out that recruitment of temporary teachers would now fall under the authority of chief education officers.

The inadequacies experienced by the school, he said, would be addressed.

The assistant minister said 22 houses would be constructed under the Economic Stimulus Programme and Debswana would construct three classrooms at a cost of P2 million.

Orapa JSS school head, Ms Kolobetso Seabe said excellent performance and commitment to serve as a team would remain a culture at the school.

Ms Seabe said their vision was to produce and educate their human resource to be globally competitive.

She said the school had its own motivation that drove them towards producing good results, but noted that they were faced with challenges such as dilapidated houses.

The school, she said, was a 15-stream that operated in a 12-stream classroom setup.

Ms Seabe indicated that the school would be celebrating 30 years of existence, but had never experienced any cyclic maintenance.

Delayed promotions and progression are some of the challenges staff faced and that Ms Seabe said affected performance.

She said staffing situation had a bearing on the school’s results because replacement of teachers took time due to lack of transport.

She expressed concern that there were three or four teachers transferred to the school, but had failed to report due to lack of transport.

Deputy school head, Mr Kebame Montwedi said personal commitment and sense of ownership led to good results.

He said they track learners’ academic performance from Form One up to Form Five.

Agricultural Studies teacher at Orapa JSS, Ms Lwazi Chakalisa expressed concern that although Agriculture was a practical subject, student-teacher ratio was very high.

Ms Chakalisa said it was also difficult to find a principal education officer to provide guidance when they conduct practical exercises, adding that the school did not have a poultry house.

Permanent secretary, Ms Grace Muzila encouraged teachers to continue improving results and urged them to improve their target.

Ms Muzila implored them to uphold inclusive education and also encouraged school heads to recommend teachers for promotion. ENDS