Setswana or English Medium?

MPHO MOKWAPE
Correspondent | Friday July 12, 2013 00:00

 

Fourty-two-year old Tlhaelo Ramontsho regrets taking her child to a private school. The diamond sorter says, despite the huge amounts of money she paid the institution, her child lacked in many aspects of education.'I think private education is better when the child is older but at an early age, government education is the best. When my child left private school in Standard Three, he couldn't read well despite speaking fluent English. Since he enrolled in a public school he has improved,' she relates.She argues that a private school is too preoccupied with teaching pupils how to speak English at the expense of reading and writing skills. She says, despite the school fees which have skyrocketed in the recent past, she will return her child to a private school when he is older to benefit from the small teacher-student ratio.

She contends that this will give her son a better chance to get a place at university where spaces are limited.   While demand for private education remains high, public education will be around for the longest time because the majority of Batswana earn too little to afford private education.The low pass rates in the public education system has made it an unenviable place for many. Lack of motivation amongst teachers owing to unsatisfactory incentives is viewed as a contributor to the declining quality of public education.Distance is also a factor. While private school children are provided with transport, those who go to public school, especially in rural areas, travel long distances to access basic education.

Gofaone Kwado, a teacher in Molepolole says as a teacher in a public school, she understands better the disadvantages that her children face by attending a public school, and has opted to enroll them at a private one.She says the decision is not about the cost but a concerted pursuit for quality education. She says public schools are struggling with overcrowding of students, which often makes it difficult for slow learners to get the necessary attention.'For this reason I still maintain that public schools should look into the issue of rationing when it comes to classes because as a teacher sometimes you have 40 to 45 students in a class which makes it difficult to give them individual attention,' stresses Kwado.She argues that the overwhelming student numbers may at the end of the day give a distorted picture of the teachers' commitment.She argues that when parents spend money on education they become involved  in their children's education to make sure that their money does not go to waste. 'I am really impressed at the progress of my kids. Compared to those I teach in public school, I honestly think they are way ahead. I will see to it that they complete higher education in a private school,' she says. 

Percia Boingotlo, a Gantsi based mother, says her son would attend a private kindergarten so that he obtains fluency in English.She says that the medium of communication at home is Setswana. She believes that it is of significance that a learner has a good command of the Queen's language in order to be comfortable in their skin.'I did well in public schools at a time when their conditions were dire - not enough classrooms and teachers, no internet and when parental involvement was still lagging, why shouldn't my son?' It is not an issue of expenses, she said. She maintains that if parents of public school-going children were to make time to assist their offsprings, as their private school counterparts do, the performance and perception of public schools would change.

Another parent, who resides in Ramotswa says sending children to private school assures one of their progress as individual attention is the core of their teaching.  Like many parents, she says the overcrowded public school classroom is one of the reasons she took her children to a private school.'Initially, both my kids attended public school but realising that they were doing badly, I decided to place them at a private one. They have since improved and their level of maturity is evident as I hardly remind them about their assignments,' she says.She says at public school, her children used to go to school on Saturday but their results never actually showed.'Often, going there as a parent you would find children playing or sleeping on tables without supervision and if you try to question it, you will be met by angry school staff questioning why you went to the class. It is a mentality which shows lack of commitment and drive among teachers,' she says.  

Local educationist, Edward Tswaipe says many factors could have fed the demand for private education across the country citing the teacher-student ratio and monitoring. Tswaipe explains that he saw, while still a teacher at Maruapula School that private schools keep a small number of students per class, which makes it easy to give them individual attention. He says that this is what parents nowadays are looking for in a school.He emphasises that with parents more involved in education, it becomes easy to pick children's weakness at an early age hence seek measures to address them unlike in government schools where parents are less interested in the education of their children. Tswaipe says the monitoring of teachers is vigorous at private schools, thereby going a long way in improving the quality of education.