05 Jun 2022

North West Region teachers have been commended for donating a mini bus to Kelekele Primary School Special Education Unit to answer the needs of leaners who commute from villages around Gumare.

During the handover ceremony over of the vehicle in Gumare on Friday, the Minister of Education and Skills Development, Dr Douglas Letsholathebe said the donation, whose acquisition was mobilised by the North West Teachers Day Committee, showed that teachers were not only concerned about their duty as educators.

He said the donation was also in line with some of the Sustainable Development Goals and Vision 2036 pillars, which upheld that no child should be left behind in education.

“As a country, our aim is to move away from a mining-based economy to a knowledge-based one and that starts with lower education,” he said. He commended the Parents Teachers Associations for contributing 60 per cent of the P75 000 that was raised towards the project.

Okavango Sub-district Council chairperson, Mr Lesedi Boy expressed gratitude for the donation and promised that the council authority would assist with fuel and service for the vehicle whenever required.

In her overview, the North West regional operations director, Ms Veronica Mochotlhi said Kelekele Primary School Special Unit had 29 learners that comprised 18 boys and 11 girls aged between eight and 20.

The school is a catchment area for Gumare and surrounding areas such as Nokaneng and Tubu.

She said the North West region had a collaboration with Sekgele Home Training Centre, a community-based organisation for People with Disabilities in Gumare, which assists the special unit children at Kelekele.

The learners, she said, were trained life skills, pre-vocational skills as well as in academics. ENDS