Girls sweep awards as Mophane primary excels

CHANDAPIWA BAPUTAKI
Staff Writer | Monday November 22, 2010 00:00

The awards ceremony, came a day after the release of the 2010 Primary School Leaving Examination where the school had come out on top in performance among the Gaborone Public Schools with a 95 percent pass.

Speaking at the event, the Director of Pre and Primary Education Department, Serero Ramahobo, applauded the students for outdoing their peers in the city and the parents for giving support and assistance to their children. 

'This is exciting news indeed and for Standard Ones to be giving such brilliant performances in fluent English is astonishing because we have this assumption that it is only the students in English Medium Schools who know so much and are fluent like that in English,' he said.

'I vividly remember the tedious, long, perilous efforts that teachers and pupils go through to make the day a success.

'It is therefore appropriate to say to all teachers who go the extra mile beyond their stipulated hours of work in preparing events of this nature, that the foundation you are laying today would leave indelible imprints in the lives of the young ones,' he said.

He explained that the endless efforts of teachers in grooming, moulding and nurturing the fragile minds of children, are playing a pivotal role in contributing to national development and as a result a positive move in realising the Five Ds. 'I appreciate that teachers are the architects of a prosperous and productive nation, working under hostile and appalling conditions.

'Teachers are the custodians of a moral and tolerant nation. We should therefore appreciate that they are the pioneers of a unified and proud nation, the drivers of the all pillars of the Vision 2016,' Ramahobo said.

He also revealed how impressed the Ministry of Education is with the school's performance in the reading project that was piloted by the British Council and has been running since 2009. 

He stated that to show the ministry's appreciation, the school has been identified with other seven schools in the South East region to continue with the project that is aimed at inculcating a culture of reading in learns and teachers to improve academic performance.