How Nanogang has remained tops in JCE
Nnasaretha Kgamanyane | Friday January 27, 2017 16:03
Arriving at the school around midday, a Mmegi newscrew is greeted by silence as though the school is on holiday.
Clearly, students are in class, but there is dead silence. This stillness is unique to Nanogang and exemplifies the eagerness and thirst for success that the country’s top junior secondary students have.
One wonders if their zeal is influenced by proximity to the University of Botswana, a stone’s throw away and an achievement many secondary students dream of.
Besides the silence, Nanogang is extraordinarily clean and neat, without a single scrap of litter or other unwanted debris on the grounds.
In an office decorated with trophies and awards, school head, Baitse Mosa Kebobonye confidently declares she intends to keep up Nanogang’s academic position in the years to come.
Her neat office is placed in the corner of the staff room. On her desk are neatly piled books and from her vantage point, she has a clear view of the classrooms.
In the 2016 JCE’s, Nanogang achieved a 73.9% pass rate compared to 82.9% in 2015.
The recent results featured 12 As compared to 11 in 2015, 82 Bs to 88 in 2015, 101 Cs to 110 of 2015, 12 Ds compared to 38 of 2015 and 36 Es compared to two Es of 2015. There were no Us compared to three in 2015.
As Kebobonye explains, the results are an outcome of the commitment of the teachers, parents and students. Between 2009 and 2014, Nanogang scooped positions seven, nine, five, three and seven in the national JC examination results respectively.
“We try our best to involve everyone including the parents, teachers and students to take part in education. We have strategies to ensure that we excel academically,” she says proudly.
Nanogang is different from other public schools. In some aspects it still adheres to classic methods that were used in yesteryear.
A normal school day at Nanogang starts at 7:30am, but the school has morning study classes where all students are expected to be seated by 6:30am. During that time, staff volunteers to help the students with their revision.
Each learner has a revision book where they write summaries of each topic they read.
“Each child has to have a note book that is divided according to various topics where they write a summary of all the topics they have read.
This helps a child to easily read and understand their notes when reading at home and during school holidays,” she said.
During school holidays, Nanogang asks parents to allow their children to attend revision classes, as it is often not easy for learners to absorb the Form One to Three syllabi within a short period of time.
During that period, a week’s break is taken before returning for another week of revision.
“We also have extended study for Form Three’s. They use this time to work in groups. They answer the past test papers and follow guidelines on how to answer questions. In these classes, we use the same people who volunteer for morning studying classes.
“Our volunteers include parents, more especially the Parent Teacher’s Association executives.”
Parents are integral to Nanogang’s success. The enrolment is 800 and every time the school calls for a meeting, the numbers are always satisfactory, Kebobonye says.
The lowest attendance in recent years was 400 parents, she says.
Every Wednesday, Nanogang holds a motivational talk themed “Arise and Get Into Your Place” where the staff meet with students and encourage them to prepare themselves for life after school.
Kebobonye says in the meeting, students are encouraged to stop focusing on other people’s problems and rather use their challenges to improve their lives.
“You will find out that students, just like other people, are faced with so many challenges. For instance, some of them are from poor families whist others are orphans or living under unfavourable circumstance.
“Others’ parents could be going through a divorce. As we know, these challenges may affect a child one way or another. That is where we come in.
We dedicate Wednesdays to those children and motivate them to take advantage of such circumstances by channelling their energy on their studies.”
Teachers are also key to ensuring children excel in their studies. The head teacher says indiscipline has generally been kept at a low at Nanogang, even among the teachers, where cases of them dodging classes are unheard of.
“We have reduced indiscipline. For the five years I have been here, we have never had cases of school drop outs, except for one child who had to drop out last year.
However, the young girl is back in school. When indiscipline cases are very low, students turn to focus on their education than social ills,” she said.
Like other public schools, Nanogang is faced with challenges such as shortage and or lack of resources, resulting in some students being taught outdoors.
However, the school does not let that impediment drag it down.
“We also have academically challenged students but we work with them till their work improves,” she explains.
Kebobonye worked as deputy teacher in Molalatau in 2004, before transferring to Makhubu JSS at the end of 2005 where she continued working as a deputy head. In 2008 she worked as an acting head at the same school and in 2011 was transferred and promoted as a head teacher at Sefophe JSS.
At the beginning of 2013, Kebobonye was transferred to Nanogang where she is still a head teacher.
She is continuing with her hard work and has made a friendly environment for both the students and teachers who all appreciate her as a leader, a friend and mother to many.