13 May 2018

The importance of parents’ involvement in their children’s education cannot be overemphasised, says St Bernard’s Primary School head teacher, Ms Belinah Mpuisang.

In an interview, the school head said students needed support from all stakeholders, but above all from their parents.

She said parents tended to be oblivious of their children’s work, resulting in children producing poor results.

She said most children in her school had the potential to do well, but that the challenge was the attitude of their parents. She added that children, who mostly stayed with their grandparents, were victims as the grandparents were themselves not educated.

Ms Mpuisang explained that in some cases children were  to blame for not doing well at school, as they did not involve their parents, revealing that some did not even inform their parents about school meetings or deliver letters of invitation for school gatherings.

She said they had supportive stakeholders such as the Bolux Group and Botswana Life, adding that they often sponsored school events and activities.

Deputy head, Ms Agnes Ntsuape added that other stakeholders were  the Roman Catholic Church and the local authority.

She said the Catholic Church and local authority occasionally gave both teachers and students motivational words.

Ms Ntsuape further said they appreciated parents who were helpful and active in their children’s academics, reiterating the need for parents to encourage one another in building responsible citizens.ENDS