18 Sep 2018

Education is best when built on a good foundation hence the need for reception classes, Macmillan Education chief executive officer Ms Leburu Sianga says.

Ms Sianga was speaking at a handover of a reception class project at Maisantwa Primary School in Kanye on September 17.

The company contributed text books and some reading materials and also adopted two reception classes where they erected a plaque with the school’s name and its motto.

“I would like to express confidence that the private or business sector can play a better and conducive role in improving education in our country,’’ she said.

She commended organisations that had already adopted some schools in Botswana noting that it was an inspiration to others.

Ms Sianga said it would be an honour to see the school’s pupils excelling in future and it would show the company had made a difference.

Established in 1981, she said, the company had worked closely with the then Ministry of Education expressing happiness that Macmillan Education would be working with the school.

Ms Sianga said the school had a rich cultural background noting that the name Maisantwa was derived from a regiment named by Kgosi Bathoen of Bangwaketse.    

For her part, school head Ms Naledi Tlagae expressed appreciation for the company’s gesture pointing out that the donation and reception classes signified that teachers were not alone in improving performance at schools.

Ms Tlagae urged students to consider the gesture as motivation saying the reception classes should yield positive results for both teachers and pupils.

The school has a complement of 510 pupils inclusive of reception classes.

Professor Rogers Molefi was among those who gave a presentation on the history of Maisantwa Primary School. ENDS