BY REGINALD KANYANE
MINISTER of Basic Education Minister, Angie Motshekga gave thumbs up to the North West Education and Sport Development department for consistently obtaining a clean audit every financial year and for their good performance in the matric results.
She met with various managers from education and sport development department at Mmabatho Convention Centre, Mahikeng on Tuesday.
Motshekga’s primary purpose of her visit was to monitor the readiness of provinces before the writing of the final examination.
Every year towards the end of the year, the minister visits provinces to monitor performance and this involves interaction with senior managers and the school principals.
She was accompanied by the Director General, Mathanzima Mweli and other senior officials from her department. The national delegation was welcomed by North West Education and Sport Development MEC, Sello Lehari, Dr Itumeleng Molale and other senior managers of the department.
North West education and sport development department spokesperson, Elias Malindi said the Minister started her interactions with a meeting with the provincial senior management team then later met with the school principals from across the province.
“Minister Motshekga in her address highlighted that, though the North West province is regarded as a rural province, academically it is rated high in the matric results. The province is now regarded as the top province in the country. It is one of the performing provinces,” Malindi said.
Motshekga said: “North West continues to be our trendsetter in the country. We are impressed by their intervention plans namely; Learner Improvement Plan (LAIP), First Push, Last Push, etc. It is one of the provinces which are consistently performing well. They are ranked with the best performing in the country.
“Today we want to congratulate the province for their clean audit, every financial year the department obtains an unqualified report from the Auditor General. We are encouraging provinces to improve their performance on finances and academically because these programmes are inseparable”, said Motshekga.
She further requested the North West province to fill all vacancy posts in the department. Motshekga added that the province should improve their infrastructural backlogs which include sanitation.
Mathanzima Mweli the Director General highlighted that for principals to achieve better results at their school, they should be managers of curriculum. “Principals should be able to monitor curriculum delivery from the teachers to the learners. The department is preparing children for the world not only for the country,” Mweli said.
Jan Masibi Secondary School principal, Tsakane Baloyi said the training of teachers is not relevant.
“Some of the new teachers are challenged in handling the learners in schools.”
The North West Education and Sport Development MEC, Sello Lehari said the province is targeting position one in the matric results for 2016.
The Guardian 