19 Sep 2018

Indiscipline and other social ills continue to be a major problem in most of the schools in the Kgalagadi region.

Kgalagadi District Council chairperson, Mr Justice Nkwane, stated this in a full council meeting when delivering his speech in Tsabong on September 18.

He pointed out that although alcohol abuse, vandalism and absenteeism were the major elements of indiscipline issues in schools, fighting and use of drugs were also the main cause.

Mr Nkwane said incidents of fighting using dangerous objects were reported in at least two junior schools in the region.

In a quest to address these challenges, he said management of schools were in collaboration with all stakeholders including parents, the community and the tribal leadership to remedy the situation.

School drop outs were also reported to be high, adding to some challenges that the school management and teaching cadres were faced with. According Mr Nkwane, since Term 1 2017 until Term 1 2018, there has been an increase of 10 drop out cases.

The reasons for drop out, he said, which some have linked with poor results that the region continues to attain include desertion, pregnancy, ill-health and death.

He pointed out that the region was trying to make strides in bringing down the cases though it was not an easy task, adding that there was a total of 48 drop outs cases recorded during Term 1 2017 to Term 1 2018 period, mostly in junior schools where it stands at 35, senior secondary at 6 while at primary level is 7.

He divulged that this seasonal desertions negatively impacts on learners, saying the most affected school was Motaung JSS in the Kgalagadi north region where a total of 19 students dropped out.

Mr Nkwane said numerous interventions were being implemented to curb the situation adding that they were continuing to initiate and embracing new ones such as the implementation of boot camps for Form 4 students.

He further said all was not gloomy because there was a decrease in number of pregnancy cases, which reduced from 12 to 3 during the same period.

He lamented that two Form 4 students at Tsabong Unified and one Form two student at Tapologo JSS were victims of pregnancy thus far. ends