27 Mar 2023

Investing in education is crucial for the realisation of government aspiration of a knowledge based economy, says Water Utilities Corporation (WUC) director for Strategy and Corporate Affairs, Mr Peter Sedingwe.

Speaking during an appreciation ceremony organised by North West District Council leadership in collaboration with WUC to celebrate and award excelling schools in the North West district, he said the best investment any nation could make was to empower children for greatness and freedom.

Investment in education, he said would benefit learners, teachers as well as the entire society in future. He therefore thanked council and WUC leadership in Maun for recognising teachers’ efforts, saying that would motivate them to go an extra mile and gain excellence.

Mr Sedingwe said at WUC, they did not only focus on the provision of potable water but they also contributed towards supporting and improving the livelihoods of the communities.

The corporation, he said had a corporate social responsibility initiative through which they gave back to improve economic and social development of the community they operated within hence their partnering with council to recognise academic excellence.

He lauded Sankoyo Primary school and Maitlamo Junior Secondary school teachers for sacrifices they made in the cause of education.

Sankoyo attained 92 per cent overall pass rate in last year’s Primary School Leaving Examinations (PSLE) to surpass all the schools in North West region while Maitlamo scored 50 per cent pass rate.

Teachers, he said had shown commitment and keenness to foster a positive and healthy environment by ensuring that pupils left negative qualities outside the classroom.

“Issues of indiscipline are rife in schools but teachers from the two schools defied the odds and created a positive learning environment and showed pupils what it takes to be successful in the aspect of education. This is commendable,” said Mr Sedingwe.

He also called on stakeholders to work towards creating a safer environment for teachers and learners noting that they must all provide encouragement and stimulation for learning North West District Council chairperson, Mr Kebareeditse Ntsogotlho said they ought to make it a norm to give a pat on the back to those who made the district proud in any sector.

Teachers of the two schools and their pupils, he said had made them proud hence they saw it fit to recognise and celebrate their success citing Sankoyo as the best primary in the entire district surpassing even private schools.

“We have to acknowledge the immense contribution of teachers and pupils alike for academic excellence cannot be achieved by mere luck but through hard work and determination,” he said.

Mr Ntsogotlho also recognised Maitlamo teachers’ efforts and hoped they would build on the momentum to exceed the target pass mark by the end of the year. Teachers’ drive and commitment, he said, were propelling forward the national objective of achieving human capital development noting that every economy needed brighter minds and committed skilled personnel for it to compete with the best.

Furthermore, he said positive contribution of stakeholders in the education of the children could not be over emphasised citing that parents, educators, care-givers as well as donors or development partners were of critical importance.

He also appreciated WUC for making the appreciation ceremony possible, noting that council needed partners like them who went all out to contribute to others spheres of local development.

The chairperson called upon other stakeholders to come on board and recognise excelling schools and pupils on yearly basis. ENDS