15 Apr 2018

Assistant Minister of Basic Education, Mr Thato Kwerepe has encourage teachers to be always professional as espoused in the vision of education sector. 

Mr Kwerepe said this at an interaction meeting with Sehithwa Primary School staff recently. 

He urged them to shun unethical practices, which he said could tarnish their profession, reputation and eventually the education sector. 

He also encouraged them to be ethical and understand that they were role models to learners, given that their role was to mould students into responsible citizens. 

“You should not be seen coming to classes drunk or dressed in an undesirable manner. The objective of the education system is to develop the child into a mature human adult, independent citizen with a healthy personality,” he said. 

Nevertheless, the assistant minister appreciated challenges that teachers were faced with, which included overstaying, shortage of accommodation and unfavourable working conditions. 

As such, he encouraged them to have positive minds towards teaching and contribute positively to the children’s destinies. 

He indicated that government was aware of the challenges and some were being addressed owing to their impact on the education sector. 

Mr Kwerepe further urged them to understand that they were equipped with the necessary knowledge of how to deal with the dynamics hence the need to be focused and deliver to expectation. 

He added that teachers, were trained to teach in any environment and as such their learners should be seen performing better as they have teaching methods to apply for learners to adapt easily. 

In addition, he said some teachers seemed to forget their role despite being professionals.  

He stated that facilitating child’s development called for teamwork emanating from team spirit. 

“You should be seen working as a team by engaging other teachers who could deliver better in certain subjects that could also address the issue of under-performance,” he added. 

Earlier on, the assistant minister was informed that the school got 57 per cent in the last Primary School Leaving Examinations (PSLE) results despite having recorded an 80 per cent pass rate in the previous year. 

To that, Mr Kwerepe said such decline was worrisome. 

For their part, some teachers complained about transfers within the region noting that they were rotating in remote areas while some temporary teachers complained about late payments. 

Meanwhile, Mr Bareetsi Bogaisang informed the assistant minister that residents were concerned about the poor results, and thus formed a committee named “Setshwara ke ntsa pedi”. 

The committee, which includes community members and some public servants, he said aimed to work together with teachers and come up with interventions to improve the school performance. ENDS