Patrick van Rensburg

As is already public knowledge, the founder of Mmegi, of the Brigades and driver of the concept of Education with Production in Botswana, Patrick van Rensburg, passed away Tuesday morning. In this tribute, we have pulled from the files a paper by his longtime friend, and protge, METHAETSILE LEEPILE who is also the chairman of the Mmegi Investment Holdings, on the importance of promoting Education with Production i(EwP) in a competitive, knowledge-based economy. This is an edited version of the presentation he made to a Vision 2016 workshop last year

l The legend bows out

This paper attempts to do three things: address the theory and application of the EwP model in Botswana from an historical perspective, assess challenges and constraints; and conjure the role EwP can play within a knowledge-based economy. The author is a product of the model, having been educated in Swaneng Hill School in Serowe during the heyday of the model, and being a protégé of the master, Patrick van Rensburg, better known as PvR by friends, with whom he worked at the Foundation of Education with Production (FEP) and Mmegi wa Dikgang newspaper in the 1980s. This is a reflection on PvR’s ideas to the extent possible, and how these can be applied within the context of the national vision.

Editor's Comment
Time to rethink corporal punishment

Yet, as we assess the current state of discipline in many schools, we must confront an uncomfortable reality: student delinquency appears to be spiralling beyond control. Reports of bullying, classroom disruption, open defiance of teachers, and even violence amongst students are increasingly common. Teachers, once regarded as authoritative figures capable of maintaining order, now often find themselves struggling to manage classrooms effectively....

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