16 Sep 2018

Health and wellness assistant minister Mr Biggie Butale has applauded Setlalekgosi Junior Secondary School pioneer, Bishop Emeritus Boniface Setlalekgosi, for leading the struggle to establish one of the best performing junior schools in the country.

The assistant minister, also Tati West MP, was speaking at the school’s 50th anniversary celebration in Francistown on September 14.

He praised the bishop emeritus for having had the vision of seeing an academic gap in the society after Botswana’s independence in 1966 and encouraging others to take action.

His effort, he remarked, was a clear sign of the spirit of ‘Ipelegeng’ at work.

In those days, Mr Butale said, people such as Bishop Setlalekgosi worked for their communities for free and selflessly gave the country their all without any incentives at times even using their own resources.

Turning to the institution, he described the 50th anniversary as a day of retrospection and celebrating the school’s achievements.

He applauded the school for keeping up a momentum of academic excellence over the years which had seen it become one of the best in the north east region.

“When one mentions Setlalekgosi JSS, people know everywhere what the school is all about. They associate the name with academic excellence,” Mr Butale said.

With the world becoming increasingly competitive and Botswana being part of the global society, he said it was imperative that learners strived for academic success so as to compete with other developing nations such as Singapore.

“You should strive to be employers not employees and world class entrepreneurs like Aliko Dangote in Nigeria, Strive Masiyiwa in Zimbabwe, Patrice Motsepe in South Africa and even our very own David Magang in Botswana,” he stressed.

He described teachers as the bedrock of the country noting that there could be no success for anyone without them first passing through a teacher.

“Teachers play a colossal role despite the challenges they face in their daily job. I therefore implore teachers to keep up the spirit of sacrifice and I want to assure you that we are forever grateful,” he said.

He expressed concern about some communities which had become fertile grounds for many anti-social acts such as drug peddling, converging in popular hot spots, elicit sexual behaviors, improper use of social media and other misdemeanors.

Giving welcome remarks earlier, school head Mr Baboloki Bajiti said the institution owed its good academic success to prudent stakeholder partnerships forged along the way.

“Our school has kept an impressive academic record for the past 10 years. For the past decade, we have always maintained our spot on top 10 nationally and top three regionally. We have also produced some of the best students nationally. Our teachers have also been duly recognised for working hard to give our students the best education,” Mr Bajiti said. ENDS