27 Jan 2019

Ditshukudu Primary School is now synonymous with being the best in the Kweneng region. 

For two years, the school has outperformed others in the same region with an exceptional performance of 100 per cent scooping position one, a feat repeated in the 2018 PLSE results.

In an interview with BOPA, Ditshukudu Primary School head, Miss Magdeline Otile said they had attained their target of position one with 100 per cent pass rate in the previous years.

She attributed the pupils’ good performance to dedication and cooperation, which she said the school management, teachers and other non-teaching staff were devoted to.

“To achieve these results, we work very hard as a school. I work closely with teachers to ensure that we go an extra mile by giving support to our students. I do not only encourage standard sevens teachers, but I encourage teachers in all grades to prepare students at a lower level to be ready when their exam time arrives,” said Ms Otile.

She said the school’s enrolment often ranged between 80 to 100 pupils on yearly basis, adding that despite low intake, the school had its share of challenges.

“However, we strive to cater for each and every student in order to help them improve their performance individually,” she said.

She said as a way of improving and nurturing students’ performance they had created more study time by introducing evening studies on a voluntary basis while they also provided supper and their personal cars to transport students after study.

She further highlighted that various empowerment mechanisms for both teachers and learners were employed towards achieving exceptional performance. 

“English speaking policy and varied methods of teaching such as quizzes, research, and monthly tests are put to use. The school has also bought PSLE revision books and photocopied for every leaner,” she said.

In addition, she said, “There are lesson demonstrations, whereby I personally teach Standard Six and Seven classes.

I do this as a way of motivating teachers and being exemplary, showing them that I am part of their team. This also makes students feel comfortable and at ease.

I also go to an extent of personally offering accommodation to students with high potential, who  are facing social challenges during exam period,” she said.

She went on to share that management assesses the teaching and learning process during lessons in order to identify struggling  pupils and challenges that the teachers might be facing, which she said were later addressed by the school management.

 “As a way of motivating excelling students, we hold prize giving ceremonies where best-performers are awarded prizes” she shared

Even though they try their level best to attain good results, she said their efforts were somehow clouded by challenges among them shortage of classrooms, lack of a staff room and a library.

“We don’t have access to the internet, which affects communication and studying as the internet would assist in research since we do not have a library.

We also do not have a photocopying and a fax machine and it affects the revision and assessment process as sometimes we use manilas to set questions,” she said.

Ms Otile further added that they were open to working with other schools which are not performing well to empower and uplift one another as a region, but said their efforts might be hampered by financial constraints.

“We once tried to benchmark with other schools, more especially junior schools as they are the ones absorbing our students, but our workshop arrangement failed due to insufficient funds and lack of transport,” she said.

Ms Otile however, pleaded with sponsors and donors to remember Ditshukudu Primary School as their intention was to encourage other Kweneng region schools to achieve good results.

She expressed worry that pupils from her school, once admitted to a junior secondary school, start failing, thereby encouraging junior school management to work closely with primary schools and employ similar strategies and systems to achieve good results.

“It pains me to produce exceptional students and see them failing later at a junior level.

I believe some contributory factors towards this is the different approaches and systems used in primary and junior schools and I would like to encourage junior school management to try and go an extra mile and also work closely with us for continuous support for students,” said Ms Otile. ENDS