Africa-Press – Botswana. President Dr Mokgweetsi Masisi has hailed the spirit of self-reliance that led to the establishment of Machana Primary School in the Moshupa/Manyana constituency saying the institution’s existence is a true demonstration of what the nation can achieve through collaboration.
Officially opening the school yesterday, he said the institution was birthed without a government budget but with donations from patriotic Batswana moved by concern for the welfare of children.
Giving the historical background, President Masisi said during a kgotla meeting he addressed in Machana in 2017 as the then area MP and Botswana’s vice president, he was disturbed by the presence of many school-going children accompanying their parents.
That, he said, was an indication that they lacked meaningful activities to engage them, which was not right.
The President said upon realising that something impactful needed to be done to ensure that Machana children had access to education like any other in Botswana, he launched a call to action which was evidently a roaring success.
He said the burning desire to educate the children of Machana through self-reliance efforts resulted in the establishment of a satellite school in 2018 which was now a fully-fledged primary school.
As a result of the school’s existence, many developments such as access roads and a water reticulation network had been brought to the settlement, he said adding that it had visibly changed the settlement’s economic landscape.
President Masisi said it was paramount that all children had equal opportunities to access quality education with no child left behind because to be educated was to be empowered.
Education was a leveler of all social inequalities and other challenges, he said.
Therefore, Dr Masisi said any investment in children’s education should be applauded more so that the country envisaged graduating from a resource based economy to a knowledge based one that leveraged on digital technology.
On the side of government, the President said the aim was to produce 21st century learners who were globally competitive hence the heavy investment in education.
He said government was doing everything in its power to ensure that learners were provided with laptops and other information and communication technology gadgets as well as reliable high speed Internet through the Village Connectivity Programme.
Another institution which started as a satellite school, Bikwe in Moshupa/Manyana constituency, achieved 100 per cent pass rate in the 2022 Primary School Leaving Examinations with its first batch of Standard Seven learners.
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