26 Oct 2022

Access to quality education is an essential right for people, especially children, and no one should be left behind, a Japanese embassy official has said. 

Ms Murai Makiko was speaking Tuesday during a P900 000 grant signing ceremony for the construction of a special education unit at Gaborone West Junior Secondary School.

She said the concept of leaving no one behind did ‘not only entail reaching the poorest of the poor, but requires combating discrimination and rising inequalities’.Ms Makiso said the grant, under the ambit of the Grant Assistance for Grassroots Human Security Projects, would be used for the unit’s construction where learning would include practising ‘leave no one behind’ as per the Sustainable Development Goals.

In addition to subjects such as mathematics and science, the unit would also offer sports and cooking crafts, she said.

Ms Makiko said the project included classrooms, sick bay,  kitchen, bathroom and special toilets to enable pupils to learn at their own pace, depending on their health and level of learning ability.

The aim, she said,  was to help pupils who already had dreams to learn in a conducive environment.

Ms Makiko said her government had since 1997 been assisting in projects such as construction of schools and rehabilitation centres for people with disabilities.

Thanking the Japanese government for the donation, chief education officer, South East Region, Mr Kwante Kwante said the facility would be accessible to any Motswana learner. Ends