13 Jun 2021

Ministry of Basic Education will maintain the 30 and below leaners ratio per class, post COVID-19.

According to the Minister of Basic Education, Mr Fidelis Molao, maintaining the 30 and below learners per class would require for more teachers, hence he said more temporary teachers would be employed.

Mr Molao, who was touring schools in North East District on Thursday, said although 2020 was a challenging academic year due to the COVID-19, educators across the country prepared learners for the final examinations.

He said COVID-19 continued to kill teachers, saying so far 50 teachers had died from COVID-19 related complications. 

The situation, he said, called for the need to vaccinate the teaching staff in the following batches.

Concerning the purpose of his visit, Mr Molao said he wanted to appreciate the status of buildings so that his ministry made an informed decision during the planning period.

“I believe it is important to invest in infrastructure expansion for schools that produce good results in order to motivate them to do even better and in turn motivate others.”

On other issues, Minister Molao said his ministry was working on rolling out internet services to all rural villages and settlements across the country as a way to bridge the technology gap.

While at Masunga Senior Secondary School, Mr Molao congratulated the school for scooping position one in the 2020 BGCSE academic performance countrywide.

Mr Molao stated that despite 2020 being a challenging year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Masunga Senior Secondary School set themselves targets which they were able to achieve.

The minister commended North East District for their academic excellence in primary, junior and Senior secondary schools, noting that this was a district of choice for many parents to take their children to.

Masunga Senior Secondary School head, Ms Bana Letsholathebe said the minister’s visit was a motivation for them as a school of excellence.

Ms Letsholathebe said the school believed in setting goals and strategies, for which they worked tirelessly as a united front to achieve the targets.

She highlighted that the school was proud to have a hard working team with good working relations and commitment from the student body, teachers, support staff and parents.

However, she indicated that the school was not well resourced,  siting shortage of infrastructure.

She, therefore, requested the ministry to provide porta cabins to augment the infrustructure.

Ms Letsholathebe said the school was affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, saying the boarding students were the most affected.

However, she indicated that the school had not had any fatality, adding that some teachers were infected this year, but were back at work.

From Masunga Senior Secondary School, Mr Molao proceeded to Maruje Junior Secondary School, where he acknowledged the shortage of classrooms. Maruje Junior Secondary School head, Mr Baile Mosotho said the minister’s visit was a motivation for the school community.

He stated that the student community had grown over the years, as the school admitted  learners from host village Masunga, neighbouring Vukwi, Letsholathebe and Mosojane despite the fact that there was no infrastructure expansion.

However, he stated that with or without challenges, the school team was aiming high.

He said the school had converted outdoor teaching areas to classrooms and partitioned the hall to optimally accommodate learners during the COVID-19 pandemic.

For his part, Memeber of Parliament for Tati West, Mr Simon Moabi applauded North East District schools for their excellent academic performance over the years despite challenges posed by shortage of infrastructure.

He stated that Masunga senior secchool was a school of excellence that had produced remarkable learners who became giants in the community.

 

Mr Moabi encouraged educators to continue working hard and striving for excellence even during a pandemic so that they produce quality learners. ENDS