TNMC official rallies education stakeholders

PINI BOTHOKO
Correspondent | Thursday May 30, 2013 00:00

 

'My hope is for all of us to create a nation of excellence by participating in education.  More often than not, people in general believe that schools are a preserve of teachers, non-teaching staff and students only,' said Akanyang in his keynote speech at the Francistown cluster 2012 excellence awards at Tatitown Primary School on Tuesday.  He urged those at the awards to be part of excellence and to create centres of excellence.

He said the role of the rest of the stakeholders is to ensure that learners are well catered for in terms of uniform, transport money and other necessities. 'There is a need for a paradigm shift for all those who may be holding this notion, so that we can all realise that the education of our children is a concern for all stakeholders who should actively participate in the day-to-day processes and activities of the system,' he said.

The theme of the ceremony was: 'Stakeholder Participation in Education - A Key Component in Motivating Learners and the Workforce'.  Akanyang stated that the theme speaks volumes about the role of stakeholders in education and the three key words are participation, component and motivation. 'I am here today to encourage you all to take part in our children's education, motivate the staff and students to always dream big. We should all keep our lights of motivation shining despite challenges,' he said. He hailed the Ministry of Education for covering a lot of ground in stakeholder participation through the involvement of mentors and PTAs in working out strategies for the improvement of results in schools. 'Other initiatives like Adopt-a-School should be embraced by all of us, particularly the business community,' said Akanyang.