09 Oct 2019

 Motaung Junior Secondary School head, Mr Kabelo Mosenke has decried the high absconding rate at the school.

He said generally the pupils did not have interest in their studies, while others left school to cohabit with older men at nearby Inalegolo village.

He revealed this at an Adolescents and Young People (AYP) road show conducted by First Lady Neo Masisi in collaboration with the National AIDS and Health Promotion Agency (NAHPA) in Kang on October 8.

The road show is part of many that the first lady uses to interact with young people to empower them to be change agents in their communities.

Mr Mosenke noted that recently, 16 Form One and Two pupils left school, but only 10 returned, which he said contributed to the school’s poor academic performance.

“In 2007 the school recorded 18 per cent ABC pass rate, but last year it improved to 33 per cent,” he said

However, he noted that with the correct interventions they had the potential to improve and they were striving for a 50 per cent for this year.

Mr Mosenke said they continued to collaborate with other organisations such as the police in an endeavour to mould the children into responsible adults.

The school head said there was need for teachers to be trained so that they could help with behavioural change. 

“Teachers need special education skills such as guidance and counselling, which would help us address such challenges,” he stressed.

He noted that shortage of facilities was one of the contributory factors to the poor academic performance.

 

He said the school started in 1989 as a six-stream school, but currently had 560 pupils; 251 borders and 309 day scholars. ENDS