Picture: Batlhaping High School in Taung
By OBAKENG MAJE
Teaching and learning continue to decline at the icon Batlhaping High School in Taung. The acting principal, Patrick Meyer alleged that, teachers spend more time in the staff room neglecting the allocated lessons as per the school timetable in the process.
Meyer painted this grim picture during the oversight visit conducted by the North West Provincial Legislature’s Portfolio Committee on Education, Arts, Culture and Sport Development recently.
“I have been seconded to the school by the district office due to the declining performance of the school. The matric results have been dropping since 2020 and the school only managed to obtain a 74% pass rate for the 2022 academic year.
“Matric learners achieved a 52% pass rate in the second term of 2023. We are currently drafting a revision plan with the hope that it would help the matric class of 2023 and improve the pass rate to 80%,” he said.
Meyer further said the observation was made as early as Monday, which should be one of the contributing factors to poor matric results. He added that, another factor contributing to poor matric results is learners failing Setswana, which is their home language.
The former principal has been transferred to the district office and was expected to provide handover and financial reports to Meyer on 1 September 2023.
The Deputy Principal, Lebogang Gasealawe shared the same sentiments. Gasealwe said the school has gone through three principals since 2021, which in a way created an unstable environment.
“Unstable management is contributing to the poor performance of the school. Another challenge is the absenteeism of teachers, which also contributes to the poor performance of the school. The teaching lost time is not easily recovered, which disadvantages the learners,” he said.
Meanwhile, the chairperson of the North West Provincial Legislature’s Portfolio Committee on Education, Arts, Culture and Sports Development, Paul Sebegoe said: “We conducted an oversight visit at Batlhaping Secondary School and the programme is aimed at strengthening oversight, public participation, accountability and transparency in government.
“During the oversight members of the Legislature interact with different Provincial Departments, Accounting Officers, and Members of the Municipal Public Accounts. We will engage the North West Department of Education and request them to appoint the principal permanently with the hope that this will strengthen the management of the school.”
Sebegoe further said, that the committee will also enquire about measures taken by the department with regard to teachers, who are always absent from school due to ill health or sick leave as these affect teaching and learning.
The Guardian 