25 Aug 2019

 Khoemacau Copper Mine and the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development have donated full school uniform and bags to reception class pupils at Toteng Primary School in the Ngamiland region.

The ministry, through the finance administration sub-division bought uniform while the mine bought school bags to promote effective learning.

Speaking during the handing over of the donation, Assistant Minister of Basic Education, Mr Thato Kwerepe thanked the duo for demonstrating love and care towards youngsters, adding that children were vulnerable, hence the need to look after them and meet their needs.

He said it was critical for all to invest in youngsters as they were the future.

 He appreciated that the mine had not yet started production while the ministry did not have a budget to assist the less under-privilege, but the employees found it fit to extend a helping hand by popping out money from their pockets.

Mr Kwerepe stated that one of the objectives of his ministry was to ensure universal and equitable access to quality basic education for all children. 

He also appreciated that some partners were coming forth to ensure they achieve that.

The donation, he said, would give them dignity and confidence as they would feel as part of the school system.

Mr Kwerepe urged parents to support their children, noting that they should always ensure they attend classes without failure and also develop a habit of checking their home works. 

Parents should also attend school meetings when invited, he stressed.

The assistant minister said they should be thankful that there were people out there who cared about their children, hence they should be motivated to play their role towards their children’s education.

He also acknowledged the teachers’ good work despite challenges they faced.

An official from the ministry, Ms Ellen Richard-Madisa said they realised that there was a need at the school during their meetings with public servants when they embarked on a district tour to encourage government employees to utilise the GEMVAS scheme to purchase vehicles and houses.

She said they were touched to see some reception pupils coming to school without uniform while some were barefooted.

Ms Richard-Madisa said they engaged other ministry employees and they contributed monies to buy uniform for the pupils.

She said they also roped in Khoemacau mine management, who agreed to buy school bags for the children.

Ms Richard-Madisa thanked the mine for responding positively to their plea and making the event possible. “We all did that out of the goodness of our hearts and we believe the little we donated will make a huge difference in the lives of the children,” she added.

Khoemacau CEO, Mr Johan Ferreira said they were happy to be part of the event, noting that it was critical to contribute towards the future of the youngsters and the community at large.

Children need to be supported and moulded into responsible citizens and role models, he added.

To teachers, Mr Ferreira urged them to exercise patience when dealing with children and also appreciate that their profession was unique as it ‘produces other professions’.

“The future of our children are in your hands and I call you to keep doing the good work and make learning more attractive and rewarding,” he added.

In addition, he encouraged parents to motivate their children to love school and called on children to take their studies seriously.

Earlier on, the school head, Ms Portia Sefo appreciated the donation and thanked the ministry and the mine for the good gesture. 

She said the school opened doors in 1977 with 120 pupils, but today it has an enrolment of 576 pupils and 21 teachers.

She stated that the school’s mission was in line with the ministry’s mission and revealed that through partnership and Adopt-a-School initiative, they could achieve the mission of providing quality education.

In addition, she said the school’s performance had been fluctuating, saying in 2016, they scored 36 per cent, in 2017 it was 72 per cent while last year the overall performance was 12 per cent.

Ms Sefo attributed poor performance to a number of issues such as shortage of classrooms, furniture, electronic gadgets and teachers’ accommodation, among others.

Some teachers, she reported travelled 60 kilometres from Maun to the school daily while some rented one-roomed houses in the village. ENDS