19 Sep 2023

 The Community Investment Officer of Lucara Botswana Mine, Ms Lindiwe Gilika has called on parents to join hands with teachers and be actively involved in the education of their children.

Ms Gilika, who was the guest speaker at Grace Kgari Primary School’s 20th year anniversary celebration on Thursday, cautioned that society faced many new challenges, including the prevalent use of habit-forming drugs by young people. She said this could be addressed through collaborative approach by different stakeholders that included parents and teachers.

‘”We have a huge responsibility in ensuring that we have future Presidents, Ministers, Members of Parliament, CEOs, and permanent secretaries who will be able to make sound and progressive decisions for the nation,” she said.

Ms Gilika encouraged teachers and parents not to be discouraged by the shortage of resources, especially textbooks and other materials, but find creative solutions to the challenges to deliver good results.

She praised internet connectivity in the schools as a milestone in the country’s pursuit for quality education and the country’s digitisation agenda.

“If parents and teachers can encourage learners to use the internet connectivity wisely it can positively impact the school performance, and deliver a bright future for learners,” she noted.

The school head, Ms Letshidile Kokoro explained that the school, which opened its doors in 2003 with 252 students and 10 classes, was named after a woman who was renowned for hard work.

She said the school was among the top performers in Serowe, though it faced many challenges such as shortage of classrooms and furniture, leading to some classes to be taught under trees. Ms Kokoro indicated the inadequate classrooms will force some of the school’s 360 learners to be transferred to other schools.

Among the dignitaries was the elderly, Ms Edna Monyena, who narrated her life together with the late Ms Grace Kgari who was her friend and a colleague at nursing. She said the late Ms Kgari, who was the wife of former cabinet minister the late Mr Bakwena Kgari, was a strong and principled humanitarian activist who always insisted that things be done properly and on time. ends