Africa-Press – Botswana. The 14th edition of the Botswana Examination Council (BEC) excellence awards has diverted from its norm of recognising the students who have performed exceptionally well to equally acknowledge the outstanding contribution made by some individuals in supporting students to excel.
The duo of Mr Khumo Ditshamekelo, a Mathematics teacher at Mojamorago Junior Secondary School in Selebi-Phikwe and retired former school head at Naledi Senior Secondary School, Mr Othusitse Othusitse, were applauded for having made a significant impact through improving the learners’ performance.
They were highly praised for working hard for the excellence academic achievement.
The Chief Executive Officer of BEC, Dr Moreetsi Thobega, said under the leadership of Mr Othusitse, Naledi Senior Secondary School has for a consecutive 10-year period produced at least one candidate among the Top 10 at BGCSE. “You have therefore been a consistent guest at these awards for the past 10 years.
In those 10 years, the school produced three Golden Star Award recipients,” he said.
As for Mr Ditshamekelo, Dr Thobega vowed that he was a man with a change mindset. “He is one of those who chose to be a teacher, a devotion. In his line of duty, he has volunteered as a sponsor and a guardian to several of his former students and one of them is among the current recipients.
“He is a product of Mr Ditshamekelo’s guardianship. He mentored and supported him since junior school through to senior secondary school and he is here to receive an award as one of the BGCSE top achievers,” said Dr Thobega.
In an interview, Mr Ditshamekelo said his eagerness to assist the students was driven by the challenges from the environment: “I believe I was assigned to teach in a location where some of the students were exposed to a challenging environment impacting negatively on their studies,” he said.
He said life in Botshabelo location (lekeishane) in Selebi-Phikwe was an obstacle that most children were consumed into, therefore failing to perform at school. He said it was not true that children who reside in such localities were not academically gifted. “The main problem was that they are exposed to some impediments beyond their control. Some could not do any school work after school due to lack of electricity to provide light for them,” he said.
He added: “I was driven by such challenges to commit my time and resources to assist where I can. “I then approached the school head asking for permission to supervise a team of students that I have identified as challenged, though academically gifted to engage in extra study hours after the normal school day. I started with a manageable group of students, taking advantage of the available facilities at school. “I managed because the school head gave my request the green light.”
Mr Ditshamekelo said some of the students’ trials were not only limited to lack of light to study at night, as they could not manage to devote more hours to their studies on empty stomachs. “Their families were unable to adequately provide for their meals. I shared the little that I had with them to an extent that I took some under my roof, stayed with them so that I could share with them the little that I had,” he elaborated.
Some of the children who managed to perform exceptionally well managed to do so with the assistance and guidance of tutors.
“The ones that I mentored were naturally gifted and only in need of one’s guidance and support to augment where they were lacking.
When it all started, I picked the best 10 and after mastering content, I would engage them to tutor others and ultimately the programme would be rolled out to a larger group of students,” he said. Normally, Mr Ditshamekelo said his extra lessons with his group of students would run between 2000hrs and 2200hrs. “The good thing is that the community of Botshabelo blessed my idea. Some parents will come to the school to escort their children and walk them home through the night. “I will at times follow them behind with my car, ensuring that they all arrived home safely,” he said.
Later, Mr Ditshamekelo said, he established a beneficial relationship with Mater Spei College in Francistown.
Though knowing it would not be kindly received by the local senior secondary school, as he was somehow taking away the best and well-groomed students to another school. He said the idea behind pleading for them to be admitted at Mater Spei was so that they could be offered boarding, a situation that will ensure their commitment to their studies without being disturbed by societal and family shortcomings.
He said pleading for the students to be admitted at a boarding facility worked well for them. “I knew that their families were financially challenged, therefore taking them to a boarding facility where they will be staying together will make it easy for me to provide for them in terms of toiletry and other basic needs during their period of study. “I was happy that some of the parents were making efforts to augment what I was offering to the students. “During schools’ recess, I would drive to Francistown to collect them, a trip that I would be repeating at the beginning of every term. “I am fully committed as I believe the project is bearing fruits. All the students that I have mentored never disappointed me. Most of them performed well to qualify for government sponsorships to pursue their tertiary education. Mr Ditshamekelo said one of the students whom he has mentored is among the 2022 BGCSE top achievers. “He is not the only one from that group who managed to do well. “The other one who was also part of the group managed to get five A*. “I have made an arrangement with John Mackenzie and he was admitted for his A-levels and therefore I am engaged in taking care of the student’s personal needs. I have three more who completed before him and were now studying overseas.
“I follow them until they finish their senior secondary school as well as provide guidance in their career choices,” he said.
Meanwhile, Mr Othusitse who equally received accolades for his contribution in the guidance and support of some of the BGCSE top achievers, revealed in an interview that team work was an important ingredient to excellent performance. “When I got to Naledi I found a culture of excellence and it was a culture that I also had to ensure that it was sustained. I found a team of management that was dedicated to excellence. We drummed into the students to adopt the culture,” he explained.
Mr Othusitse said the students were encouraged to work hard and smart to attain such a culture. “Part of the culture at the school was that we recognised excellence through mini prize giving events at house level. “We also had appreciation lunches by the school head where students who had attained the targeted set threshold of points were recognised and awarded as well as those who managed a certain number of A*, those whom we referred to as Top Achievers. They were handsomely recognised, resulting in sustenance of the culture of excellence,” he said. Mr Othusitse said the environment encouraged all the students to aim high. He said the annual magazine of Top Achievers was also distributed at the school, for the students to read and derive motivation from how past top achievers prepared for the examinations and benchmark from such excellence. He said one of the things that motivated teachers, the school management and the students was parental involvement. “If you call a PTA meeting at Naledi Senior Secondary School, the school would be fully packed by parents and guardians who fully participated in their children’s education. If you asked for contributions towards the school course, they would contribute generously.
He said the alumni of the school were another group that contributed to excellence at the school. They would always be there during prize giving ceremonies, handsomely sponsoring students with various prizes. One of them has dedicated to sponsor the school’s top achiever every year. Parents and alumni involvement worked for the school during my days at Naledi and I left that culture still intact. With a career span of 40 years, 26 of which were served as school head at Gantsi, Francistown and Naledi, Mr Othusitse’s passion still remains with the academics with keen interest in publishing materials that will continue to contribute to educating the nation.
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