16 Feb 2021

Kanye Administrative Authority (KAA) chairperson, Mr Simon Ramaphoi says he was gratified by the level of competence displayed by schools in the sub-region in the 2020 Primary School Leaving Examinations (PSLE).

Addressing a sub-council session on Monday, Mr Ramaphoi said schools performed exceptionally well despite the spread of COVID- 19, which was causing a disruption to the learning process. He said staff and teachers underwent isolation and quarantine during the learning process, but a total of 1 681 learners sat for the 2020 PSLE and scored a cumulative average of 72.3 per cent in the AB and C pass, which was an improvement of 3.4 per cent.

He said this therefore showed that most schools in the sub-region performed well, though they did not reach the set national target of 80 per cent AB and C pass, adding that only Selokolela failed to reach the 50 per cent AB and C pass.

On other issues, he said stationery and equipment for the academic year 2021 were not delivered to schools, owing to re-tendering processes. He, however, said all primary schools were to receive 70 per cent of their required stationery this quarter because the responsible company promised to deliver by end of February.

He said feeding in primary schools, which was done through the ministries of Basic Education (MoBE) and Local Government and Rural Development, was going well, adding that secondary schools were currently fed through waivers awaiting the two-year contract that was about to resume. Mr Ramaphoi said though the programme was running well in primary schools, they experienced challenges in the first week of school term due to inadequate supply of sorghum, samp, vegetables, eggs and fruits.

He said KAA primary schools were also inspected for compliance to COVID-19 protocols, and it came to light that all schools now had reliable running water and functional ablutions. Over and above that, some schools were undergoing cyclic maintenance and as such were at an advantage, he said. Mr Ramaphoi said learners’ indiscipline in schools was a cause for concern as cases of insubordination, fighting and theft were on the rise.

He pointed out that though the root cause of the cases was not fully known, they could be closely associated with lack of proper parental involvement in the upbringing of children or just acts of delinquency. He implored the populace to take good care of themselves as the COVID-19 remained a challenge, with a total of 592 cases recorded during the quarter under review, with 534 recoveries, 57 active and one COVID-19-related death.

Furthermore, he said the upsurge of COVID-19 infections remained a huge battle in schools, with 42 positive cases recorded at Seepapitso Senior Secondary School, 18 in different junior schools with Mookami Junior Secondary School recording the highest at eight. He said primary schools recorded 39 positive cases, and Rachele Primary School recorded the highest number, seven. ends