Debswana pledges specialist teachers for Orapa
Onalenna Kelebeile | Thursday September 18, 2014 12:34
OLM Education Manager, Fidelis Machola said furthermore the diamond producer last year purchased eight giant multi-purpose photocopying machines at a cost of P280,000 and donated these to primary schools that were identified by Boteti Sub District Council.
Speaking during a prizegiving ceremony at Makome Hill Community Junior Secondary School in Mmadinare recently, Machola said the company is committed to the development of the country’s education and continues to demonstrate its commitment through its corporate social investment programme.
Debswana also pledged a sum of P5,000 to the school towards the prize giving ceremony.
He added that the event serves as a platform for motivating and energising students to maximise their potential and in turn, their educational experience. “The global arena is filled with people who are educated and very competitive, hence all stakeholders in education should ensure that they assist students to be the best they can be tomorrow,” he said. “They need to be prepared to face challenges of a globalised world, compete effectively in global markets and take opportunities offered by globalisation.”
He stressed that this means setting high standards of excellence in education that will enable the local students to compete with the best in the world. He also emphasised the need to create a culture of achievement with a focus on excellence in schools.
In recent years, Makome has been performing very well, attaining an 80.8 percent pass rate in 2009, 84.4 percent in 2010, 73.8 percent in 2011 and 74.7 percent in 2012. The school had a 76.6 percent pass rate last year.
School-head, Thulaganyo Mbulawa, expressed concern over the unimpressive payment of school fees and development levies by parents, saying only 38 percent of the school population had paid school fees thus far.
He also said the school is facing a transport shortage, which sometimes results in officers missing important meetings and activities. “We also have a serious shortage of textbooks. Since the implementation of the new syllabus, schools are struggling to secure enough books for students,” he added.