Picture: Pinagare High School learners during assembly/Facebook

By OBAKENG MAJE

The North West MEC for Education, Viola Motsumi said they will beef up security at Pinagare High School in Taung. This comes after the school allegedly experienced a string of burglaries, especially during school recess. Motsumi embarked on an oversight visit to different schools in Taung on Monday, along with the chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Department of Basic Education (DBE), Bongiwe Mbinqo-Gigaba.  

“This is one of the most successful meetings we ever had as the department, together with the Portfolio Committee on DBE. The aim of the visit was to assess their readiness for the 2024 academic year.

“So far, everything is intact and learners have received their stationery on time. I can also confirm that, even the number of learners present today is so convincing together with the teachers. One must just indicate that there is only one vacancy here in the school,” she said.

Motsumi further said that happened due to a promotional post by one of the teachers. She added that they are going to make sure that they speed up the process of filling it up.

“One of the issues that is dominant in this particular school, is the issue of security. The school management has indicated that there is a serious security breach here.

“When you look at the fence of the school, it is a diamond-shaped fence and we have resolved together with the Portfolio Committee that we will check our budget and see how best we can assist the school,” said Motsumi.

She said the department will provide the school with a clear view fence, which is much stronger. Motsumi said the school management highlighted that the school experiences burglaries because it is secluded.  

“They have engaged the municipality to provide them with a high mast light. So, those are the issues that we will be concentrating on. However, we are happy with the school’s general performance during Matric Class of 2023.

“The school has improved in terms of Mathematics compared to the Physical Sciences, where it has dropped. So, when it comes to infrastructure, everything is working including the ablution facilities,” she said.

Meanwhile, Mbinqo-Gigaba said: “So far, we are happy with what we have seen. It was clear that teaching and learning is happening with teachers, as well as learners in the classrooms. A conducive environment for teaching and learning clearly exists at the schools we visited.

“We arrived during a break at one school, learners were being fed through the nutrition programme at the school. Some concerns were raised about the impact on the functioning of the schools. Those concerns included theft during weekends or when schools are closed.”

Mbinqo-Gigaba said they plead with communities to take ownership of their schools and name and shame those perpetrators. She also commended Molelema Primary School for its emphasis on reading, spelling bee and debating.

“Learners that are able to read with meaning are what the country needs. Programmes like these, ensure we reach that goal. I would also like to commend Pinagare High School for its National Senior Certificate results as well as the well-functioning management of the school.

“The committee noted that PH Moeketsi Agriculture School was meant to accommodate much fewer learners than what it currently has. That raises challenges with classrooms, educators and ablution facilities. At some stage, schools must have a cut off number. During a meeting with Motsumi, we raised concerns about quality passes, learner transport and throughout rate and retention of learners between Grade 10 and Grade 12,” said Mbinqo-Gigaba.

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