23 Sep 2013

Departmental and Vocational Educational and Training (DVET) director, Mr Peter Choto has applauded McConnell Senior Secondary School’s excellent performance in academic and co-curriculum activities.

Speaking at the school’s prize giving ceremony last Friday, September 20, Mr Choto shared his department’s mandate which he said provided technical and vocational education and training as part of the wider human capital development as well as developing skills that were essential for growing and sustaining the economy. He indicated that the aspiration for an educated and informed nation remained strategic because it was a priority area that needed collaborative effort in a bid to enhance national development.

Also, he noted that in the essence of today’s meaningful stakeholder participation, a fundamental process towards academic excellence addressed the Vision 2016 pillar of an educated and informed nation. Mr Choto said the recent school’s academic performance called for serious introspection by all stakeholders to recall and revive the old memories of the excellent performance, especially in the 1990s.

Further, he said over the years, the school had contributed enormously to the development of the national human resources in partnership with other stakeholders. He said the school took pride in producing some of the high profile individuals such as the High Court judge, Lot Moroka, Gaborone mayor, Haskins Nkaigwa and the past immediate Selebi- Phikwe mayor, Godfrey Mbaiwa as well as the current Jwaneng mayor, Amos Jahana.

Mr Choto also noted that students’ achievement in a school almost never exceeded the quality of its leadership, management and improvements in performance almost never occurred in the absence of commendable school leadership. The school head, Mr Watson Basoli said the ceremony was geared towards rewarding, reinforcing and appreciating outstanding performance in various sectors of the curriculum. Mr Basoli said they had students who had committed themselves to scoring maximum points while some showed signs of giving up. He said teachers were equally doing their best to aid students to realise their dreams.
Nonetheless, he noted that even though students were performing well, they still had challenges in so far as parental involvement in the affairs of the school was concerned. ENDS