28 May 2018

Minister of Agricultural Development and Food Security, Mr Patrick Ralotsia says drug and alcohol abuse among students across all educational institutions is a big concern.

Mr Ralotsia, who is also a Member of Parliament for Kanye North, said this when addressing a kgotla meeting at Segotshane ward in Kanye recently.

He said some parents sold marijuana and alcohol to students, something he said was against the law, adding that drugs were also found in churches sold by both elders and some priests.

He emphasised that the government wanted a country of responsible citizens, the minister urged parents to take part in their children’s education to improve school results.

He said some parents never visited schools to check how their children were doing in their studies, while some did not even attend PTA meetings.

Mr Ralotsia appealed to parents, teachers and children to work jointly for better academic performance.

He said education was a three legged pot that needed all stakeholders to pull together to create a conducive learning environment for students.

Mr Ralotsia called on all Batswana to do everything to effect positive results across the various spheres of the education system.

He stressed the importance of grooming a child from grassroots level, saying that would make it easier for teachers to concentrate only on education.

He underscored the importance of recognising outstanding performance in the three levels of basic education.

Meanwhile, Mr Ralotsia also informed members of the community who attended the meeting about Bills, which were passed in the last parliamentary session, among them the Matimela and cybercrime bills. ENDS