Africa-Press – Botswana. The decline in marks in the larger schools in the Central District is caused by a number of factors including the placement of teachers in one school.
Apart from the Selebi-Phikwe primary schools, the grades of most of the schools in the district have fallen, a concern.
This was stated by the Central District Education Officer Mr Shandula Maphorisa at a council meeting in Serowe yesterday. Mr Maphorisa, who was one of a group sent by the agriculture department in the central region to conduct research on the fall in grades in higher secondary schools, said they had identified several others.
Mr Maphorisa said although students did well in the primary schools, the government was concerned about the decline in the results in the larger schools in the central region. He said councilors had come up with a motion that required the investigation to see where the effort was going.
Mr Maphorisa told councilors that the council had seen that the drop in marks was caused by some teachers being kept in the school for a long time without being transferred and the teacher being comfortable as he was already well acquainted with the community.
He said the shortage of teachers was a challenge with the use of temporary teachers instead of those who were trained to teach. They also saw that teachers are overworked by teaching them many lessons a day.
He also said that there is a lack of coordination in some schools between the school authorities and teachers and the parent-teacher committee, which makes education in the schools very poor. Mr Maphorisa said the lack of teachers’ uniforms, as well as resources such as books and advanced learning materials were some of the challenges.
In its resolutions, the council said it encouraged teachers to work together.
They said the results should be checked by teachers after they are released and they should look at what caused the children not to do well. The party encouraged the teaching of vocational skills to children so that they could later become self-sufficient, and that parent-teacher committees be involved in school activities.
Reviewing the grade in which students did not do well, and holding ceremonies to recognize and thank students and teachers who did well can encourage them.
In their report, councilors said there were several barriers to learners living far from facilities rather than those living in cities and towns. Patikwane councilor Nametso Senku said the Patikwane primary school was not doing well although the children had done well in the primary schools. He said the school leadership was not doing enough and asked for change.
He said that some teachers are always here, on days of illness, especially the heads of school departments.
Tidimalo councilor in Serowe, Mr Solomon Dikgang, said parents only take care of their children in education when they start at girls’ schools, and then leave them to teachers. He encouraged that the PTA should be involved in the education of the children.
Councilor Dikgang said lack of sleep undermines the dignity of teachers, and discourages them because some have shared houses. Councilor-elect Goabamang Sethaba said the games had contributed to the grades, adding that since they were stopped, children were not learning well. He said it was worrying that teachers were taking leisure days away from students.
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