06 Feb 2022

 Mmei Community Junior Secondary School produced two merit in the recently released 2021 Junior Certificate of Examinations (JCE) results, thanks to Tumo Zibochwa and Ontiretse Molau aged 15 and 16 respectively.

Mmei is the only school in the North East region to produce merits.
Ontiretse, who wishes to pursue a career in criminal law, said self-discipline kept her grounded because she knew the only way to achieve her dream was through her taking responsibility.
In a recent interview she said although parents and teachers did assist, the changing factor steering her to this achievement was her own personal input and hard work. “From here whatever school I am placed in, I have no doubt that I will continue to succeed because no external factor dictates my results more than I do,” she said.

To avoid putting oneself in unnecessary pressure, she emphasised the importance of focusing on scoring more than one’s previous results than trying to out-perform other pupils.
For his part, Tumo explained that even though he had expected to perform well, it took a lot of hard work and dedication.
He said a lot of sacrifices were made to avoid temptations to give up on his school work.

“Keeping a circle that was working towards the same goal was very important for me to never lose focus even when encountering challenges,” he said.
On challenges brought about by COVID-19, he said some pupils  lost focus and the one tactic he relied on was keeping an effective relationship with his teachers.
“I was forced to work hard due to the career I want to pursue, which is medical science,” he added.

Moving forward, he said it would be advantageous to be admitted at Maru-A-Pula as he believes that is the kind of environment that would help him grow.
Tumo’s father, Mr Kenneth Zibochwa was excited over his child’s performance.

Being the school’s Parents and Teachers Association (PTA) chairperson, he said a parent played  a big role in ensuring that their child made good choices.
He said the support offered by a parent went a long way in pushing a child to perform at their evel best.
“The school worked with parents in keeping track of the student’s projects and coming up with solutions in subjects that we felt were behind,” he added.
He described his son as a self-driven individual who needed very little supervision. He managed by creating a study schedule that worked for him. To those who did not perform well, he said it was still too early to give up.

“Everything is possible when you take responsibility, every student who did not do well still has ample time to turn tables around,” he added.
School head, Ms Patrocinia Sebina said the school secured position six in the North East and position four in Francistown.
She said they had expected to do better, but were happy to have produced some of the country’s top achievers.

“Guidance and Counselling department plays a big role in ensuring that the students remained motivated throughout the examination without getting too comfortable,” she said.
She said the teachers worked together in making sure that pupils did not get left behind on their school work during COVID-19 lockdowns.
The school has two merits, five As, 33 Bs, 92 Cs, 88 Ds, 20 Es and nine Us from a total of 249 candidates. ENDS