17 Apr 2018

Students have been described as an end product and that any challenges that leads to their indiscipline should be nipped at the root, which is parental supervision.

Officiating at the opening of Mahupu Unified School boot-camp at Takatokwane on Monday, Kgosi Makgabana Tsiane said that trying to mould children only when they reach school level was like cutting a tree at branch level, and that their indiscipline was likely to re-grow with time.

“Trying to mould students at school only serves to improve their academic performance, but the best solution for indiscipline is to address the problem at home.

At schools teachers may do all they can to correct students, but if there is no parental supervision they are likely to lapse back during school vacations, which is a drawback,” he said.

Kgosi Tsiane thus it was not impossible for children to rise from the ruins of poor parental supervision and become responsible citizens.

He said government spent a lot of funds in initiatives such as boot-camps to mould them into responsible citizens, and that it was up to them to ensure that such funds do not go to waste.

“This can only be achieved by you changing your character. From here you should also play advisers to your peers whenever they veer off-course,” he said.

Kgosi Tsiane also advised students to always open their hearts and emotions to advice so that they can better be reformed.

He also applauded all the stakeholders involved in the organisation of the boot-camp such as the Ministry of Basic Education and the Botswana Defence Force.

Chief education officer for Letlhakeng, Mr Elijah Motlhabi said youth were an investment from which the nation expects returns.

He said vandalism and cellphone abuse were some of the major concerns in schools, and was hopeful that the boot-camp would help them desist from such.

Mahupu school head, Mr Khan Masau indicated that the boot-camp was the second his school conducted and that they had a total of 279 Form Five students, which included day scholars.

He said they adopted the boot-camp initiative as, like all the other schools in the country, they were hard-hit by student indiscipline.

Mr Masau said concepts instilled in students during the boot-camp included survival skills, patriotism and Botho.

Laying down the objectives of the boot-camp, deputy school head, Mr Mpaphi Kuswani said the initiative was started by government as a way of helping public schools improve their academic performance.

“The initiative was also meant to curb indiscipline as it was noted that indiscipline contributed to about 80 per cent to poor academic performance, so the Department of Special Services was roped in to assist,” he said.

He said at the end of the boot-camp, they expect to have well-disciplined students.

The Students Representative Council president, Kabelo Keetshabe expressed hope that the survival skills they would acquired would help them survive the hardships of life.

He also promise that they would later share everything they had learnt with their younger brothers and sisters in lower classes.

The boot-camp was held under the theme, Youth Empowerment for a Prosperous Botswana. ENDS