By OBAKENG MAJE

The Walter Letsie High School principal, Sylvia Moroke lauded teachers and learners for their commitment towards attaining great results in the annual National Senior Certificate (NSC) Examinations compare to prior years. The Manthe-based school received an award as the most improved school during the Greater Taung Local Municipality’s Mayoral Excellence Awards to the Class of 2022.

The awards ceremony was held at PH Mooketsi Agricultural School in Taung on Saturday.

Walter Letsie High School received a 75% pass rate in the 2022 calendar with an improved 23%. Moroke said, in 2021, the school received a 52% pass rate and that encouraged them to work harder.

“We pulled it off because of the support that we received from the office including parents in general. Our teachers worked tirelessly and dedicated their time to learners.

“We had extra classes, where teachers sometimes knocked off at around 6pm to 8pm. Sometimes they will even drive learners home without demanding any refund,” she said.

She further said, despite all odds, they have made it. Moroke added that there were times when they experienced load-shedding, however, teachers made it.

“This award is not meant for me alone, but for learners, parents, and most teachers. We started motivating learners and had extra classes on the first Saturday.

“Also learners were fed because we realised that, the attendance during Saturday classes was very poor in previous years because learners were not given food. So, last year, we have seen improvement because we managed to give them food,” she said.

Moroke said, they have already started with extra classes and teachers have gone out to solicit working strategies from other provinces. She said what is essential is that parents are also involved and there is discipline among learners.

“Those learners who do not attend regularly, are sent back home to bring their parents. Parents have also signed commitment letters and targets set for learners based on the results they received last year. We have also given learners a code of conduct to ensure that they know how to behave.

“They also committed to taking care of their studies, so we are happy. Even though there are some socio-economic challenges, fortunately, we have an SBT Committee that identifies learners who have those challenges,” said Moroke.

She said they have learners who are from disadvantaged backgrounds and some of them come from child-headed homes. Moroke said the committee would check if these learners received social grants and come up with strategic measures how to improve their studies.

“Most of our learners at our school are using scholar bus. So, sometimes we have a challenge of the scholar transport that arrives late or not at all. So, if that happens, learners become late or absent.

“However, the scholar transport driver has improved and learners arrive early. We have also moved our time from 7:20am to 7:45am to accommodate them. The other challenge is the usage of drugs by learners, but we have the Adopt-A-Cop initiative,” she said.

Moroke said the school is working together with the South African Police Services (SAPS) to address this issue. She said they also have QLTC members who are actively involved in dealing with this issue.

“We do not work in isolation because the Department of Health and Social Development always comes on board. So, we plead with parents to buy resources for their learners too.  

“Sometimes more than one learner will, for example, rely on one calculator, and this delays teaching and learning. We also urge parents to always monitor the learners’ books and they are more than welcome to visit the school at any given time to discuss any challenges their learners might have experienced,” said Moroke.

Meanwhile, the Greater Taung Local Municipality (GTLM) mayor, Tumisang Gaoraelwe said, it is important to assimilate well-deserving learners and the most improved schools across Taung.

“This is the concept from the municipality’s office of the mayor. So, we saw it necessary to reward excellence and recognize the top 10 learners across Taung. We are even recognising the most improved schools in terms of merits.

“We are doing this necessarily because we want to encourage other schools. Over and above, we believe in education and that’s the whole purpose. This is an annual event and ever since the inception of the new administration, this is for the second time hosting this initiative,” he said.

Gaoraelwe further said, the top 10 learners will receive bursaries, laptops, and printers. He added, apart from that, there were some service providers who partnered with them and allocated R2000 to each learner.

“There are top schools that have performed well and we are awarding them certificates and trophies. I cannot really quantify how much the municipality has spent on this initiative, but what I know is that, the top 10 learners will receive laptops, while the top 3 learners will receive laptops including printers and R10 000 cash,” said Gaoraelwe.

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By BAKANG MOKOTO

The North West MEC for Cooperative Governance, Human Settlement and Traditional Affairs (COGHSTA), Nono Maloyi said, the core mandate of his department is at the rock face of service delivery to the communities.

Maloyi further said the housing delivery intertwines with many other service deliverables such as bulk services, access roads, proper ablution facilities, electricity, and so forth. In his address during the strategic planning Lekgotla, Maloyi appealed to officials within his department to prioritize integrated planning with municipalities, across all three spheres of government.

“Lack of adequate and integrated planning has proved to be creating a lot of challenges for the department and delivery of low-cost housing. So, I would like to make a call to officials to ensure that our APPs are SMART – specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and time-bound.

“Being smart in approach will assist in yielding positive results and the department will record milestones. I would like to commend our officials for spending the departmental budget as expected and we need to ensure that, the spent budget equals services delivered,” he said.

According to Maloyi, they have a contract that they signed with the people of the North West. He added, therefore, there is an obligation to deliver services as promised.

“We are restoring dignity to our people as guided by the Freedom Charter. I am calling on all officials to make this year, a year of delivery, a year where you will triple your efforts in delivering services.

“I want to see results that will simply say the government has achieved its promises and our people are living in habitable houses in peace and harmony,” said Maloyi.

Meanwhile, the Head of Department (HoD), Kgomotso Mahlobo shared the same sentiments. Mahlobo vowed to ensure that, she will be steering the department towards a clean audit, by approaching and doing things differently.

“The transfer of funds to other departments because of the failure to spend by the department is a thing of the past. I urge our officials to also do things differently and comply with the rules and regulations governing the public service.

“We will improve the administrative functions and make a positive impact as expected. Our financial management plans must be fit for purpose, and this we can achieve that if we reach to each other and communicate real deliverables for definite achievements,” she said.

Without reminiscing her words, Mahlobo said she will not hesitate to terminate all developers that abandoned their site and left projects incomplete.

“We are not going to be delayed by unscrupulous developers, who continue to delay service delivery. We must work faster and smarter to ensure that we take the bull by its horns.

“We are a winning team with capable and skilled personnel. We should not be derailed by negative external forces. We are going to do what is expected of us and within the timeframes expected, said Mahlobo.     

She said the department has among others resolved to deal head-on with challenges facing the department. Mahlobo said the strategic session committed to prioritizing unblocking blocked projects, treating disaster or emergency situations with the necessary speed, while still ensuring compliance, and improving on subsidy administration and payments of service providers according to treasury regulations.

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By OBAKENG MAJE

The Greater Taung Local Municipality (GTLM) mayor, Tumisang Gaoraelwe said, it is important to assimilate well-deserving learners and the most improved schools across Taung. Gaoraelwe held Mayoral Excellence Awards at PH Mooketsi Agricultural School in Taung, where he awarded the Top 10 learners.  

“This is the concept from the municipality’s office of the mayor. So, we saw it necessary to reward excellence and recognise the Top 10 learners across Taung. We are even recognising the most improved schools in terms of merits.

“We are doing this necessarily because we want to encourage other schools. Over and above, we believe in education and that’s the whole purpose. This is an annual event and ever since the inception of the new administration, this is for the second time hosting this initiative,” he said.

Gaoraelwe further said the Top 10 learners will receive bursaries, laptops, and printers. He added, apart from that, there were some service providers who partnered with them and allocated R2000 to each learner.

“There are top schools that have performed well and we are awarding them certificates and trophies. I cannot really quantify how much the municipality has spent on this initiative, but what I know is that, the Top 10 learners will receive laptops, while the Top 3 learners will receive laptops and printers including R10 000 cash,” said Gaoraelwe.  

The Deputy Chief Education Specialist in the Dr Ruth Segomotsi Mompati District, Petrus Meyer said, it is important to celebrate the hard work of these learners. Meyer said, as the district, they are now targeting a 100% pass rate.

“We believe that a 100% pass rate is possible through monitoring, support, and efficient management. Remember, in the past, we targeted 85%. However, from 2023 onwards, we are now targeting 100%.

“Mostly, all circuits performed well and there is an improvement. As the district, when the school received 60%, we rendered that as underperforming. Our standard is, schools should get 70% above,” he said.

Tlotlo Kgolobe from PH Mooketsi Agricultural School was recognised as the best performer. Kgolobe received the awards for overall top best performer in Taung, and top best performer for Life Science, Mathematics, and Agriculture Science subjects.

He was followed by a learner from Jerry Mahura High School in Dryharts village, Renaleone Olifant.

Kgolobe said: “I come from a humble beginning in Mamashokwane Section in Modimong village, near Taung. I was raised by a single mother, Marble Kgolobe, and received enormous support from my aunt and uncle Mogomotsi and Bonifa Kgopodimetsi.   

“So, I am intending to study Aeronautical engineering at Witwatersrand University. I always took my studies seriously, so that encouraged me to do well. I was always disciplined, dedicated, and determined in my work and ensured that I mastered each and every unit and chapter the teachers taught us.”  

He also encouraged those who did not make it not to despair, but to work harder. Kgolobe said this is not the end of the journey for them and there are still other opportunities out there.

“Just know that you have a lot of potential in you and your destiny lies in the palm of your hands. To the Class of 2022, please go out there and work hard. Kindly put everything in your school work and that will yield positive results,” he said.

Various schools like Walter Letsie, Thusoetsile and Pudimoe High Schools received awards as the most improved schools.

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