Former schoolhead wants late Morake to be honoured
Lesedi Mkhutshwa | Tuesday September 26, 2017 15:52
He made the appeal recently during the schools’ 30th anniversary celebration.
Pabalinga said that MoBE should remember the part played by the late Morake and former chief education officer Gogoa Kgomanyane in the construction of junior secondary schools.
“The country had serious shortages of space in secondary schools and the presence and involvement of these men in national education eliminated this shortage through their brain power,” he said.
He said that the 1978 Education Act that empowered the community through governors was the brainchild of Morake and Kgomanyane, as they sourced funding for these schools from external donors.
Pabalinga said that Mmei JSS was established in 1987 with 240 students and six classes.
“During those days I sent admission letters to students of which majority of parents came fuming with anger including some of the well known political leaders who discredited the formation of the school,” he said.
Pabalinga said during those times they encountered challenges in communication and transport, as there was no telephone link and he had to travel to other secondary schools for exchange of information.
He said that they also faced shortage of land when agriculture was introduced as a core subject.
He added that they managed to approach the relevant stakeholders and were given a piece of land and a donation worth P11,000 for fencing material.
Pabalinga said that by the end of the year through the help of Morake, Kgomanyane and the residents of Monarch location the school was completed with numerous classrooms and labs.
He urged parents to play their role by creating a conducive family environment, which promotes schoolwork.
He also urged teachers to create a clean learning atmosphere through policies in the school.
Current Mmei JSS schoolhead Patrocinia Sebina said that the school has 655 students, 78 staff members of which 55 are teachers.
She said that in the 2016 academic performance they attained 47% quality pass and their transition to senior secondary school is 74%.
Sebina said that Mmei JSS scoped position 35 out of 258 schools nationally.
She raised a concern about improper use of technology by some of the students.
“We grew up in an era when there was no Facebook, Ipad, Twitter.Technology can be good or bad depending on the use,” she said.
Sebina said both teachers and parents should teach students the proper use of technology.