Planning, striving and perseverance at Tloga

LEKOPANYE MOOKETSI
Correspondent | Friday November 2, 2007 00:00

Matlhape was speaking at the school's prize giving ceremony recently. The theme of the prize giving ceremony was 'planning, striving and perseverance: a way to realisation of academic excellence'.

She said their mission is to provide quality education and training that is accessible and equitable to all learners in order to enable individuals to reach their full potential. 'This will be achieved through efficient and effective management,' she said.

Matlhape said the school has values that go hand in hand with the mission. These values are transparency, customer focus, flexibility, education and collaboration.

The head teacher said since the inception of the school in 1996, it has always performed relatively well in the national examinations. The first mark off was in 1998 and it was 86.5 percent. Like any other government school, she said, the school receives mixed ability learners. 'It is only through perseverance that such good results are attained every year.

This year the school has a target of 95 percent and this shall be possible through your undivided support as parents'.

Matlhape said it was through the joint effort of teachers, parents and students that such results are attained. She added that this joint effort has created a cordial relationship between the involved parties. 'May I say this to parents that if the tripartite relationship is not nurtured and promoted, we may not realise our dream as a school.'

She said the school is blessed with a 100 percent qualified teaching staff. 'It is a pleasure to work with such qualified personnel and an advantage to the parents and students. An opportunity such as this one needs to be exploited for maximum benefit,' she said.

The head teacher also touched on the burning issue of cost-sharing. It is government policy, she said, that all parents who are eligible for paying cost-sharing fees for their children should do so without fail. She said some parents have found this their rightful responsibility to share costs with the government for their children's education while others have not been as forthcoming as expected in terms of paying for their children. 

The school records show that 62 Form Three students have not paid for the third term.

Matlhape said in the event that some students were found owing, the school is in a serious predicament resulting in such students being sent back home. She said this always impedes teaching and learning in the school. 'Besides, this state of affairs strains the relationship between the school and affected partners,' she laments.

Matlhape stressed that education is a right for every child. 'I would therefore like to urge all parents to join hands with the school to make sure that children are not denied this right. It is through our collaborative effort that we can realise the ideals of an educated, informed nation as one of the pillars of Vision 2016'.

The head teacher said through the Parents Teachers' Association (PTA), the school managed to install air conditioners in the library as well as the staff common room.

Another project that is nearing completion is the Setswana traditional hut. The hut is an envisaged museum where traditional artifacts will be displayed for better understanding of Setswana concepts.

'This is a ceremony at which we recognise outstanding performance. As an institution of learning, we have a wide variety of activities that we engage in as an endeavour to produce well-rounded learners who are marketable in the global world. It is our duty to strive for the best achievements with limited resources at our disposal,' she said.

She said the prize giving ceremony is a yardstick through, they could measure whether they were achieving their mandate of promoting teaching and learning. 'It is an activity that is geared towards motivating students to perform better,' said the principal.

She said the prize giving ceremony is also an occasion for students to reflect on their performance, identify their strengths and weaknesses for the betterment of their future performance.