Issued by: North West Communication Service
5 March 1997
MAFIKENG - The Premier of the North West, Mr Popo Molefe, said he was proud of the excellent performance by teachers in the province who made the 1996 matriculation results a success. He was speaking at a meeting attended by principals from schools in the North West Province.
He said the province did not experience examination paper leaks as compared to other provinces. The 69 percent pass rate, he said, was a combined effort by both principals, teachers and pupils. The premier encouraged teachers to raise their performance, if possible, to the 100 percent mark by the year 2005. He said the present system of education had continued to suffer from the legacy of apartheid which created vast social inequalities, a weak economy and a divided society.
Mr Molefe said the system needed to reposition itself in line with modern sociopolitical demands. Educators needed to impart the knowledge they had to the pupils to improve their skills. He said the failure of the transformation system in education impacted negatively on the capacity of people to deliver the RDP in a decisive manner, where building of the country's economy was inadequate. The government was committed to the restructuring process which would address the inequalities and inefficiencies inherited from past governments.
The premier urged principals to be responsible in securing and protecting their schools against vandalism.They should be committed in whatever work they did and stick to stipulations. He also advised them to understand the departmental policies and regulations. Concerning the issue of stability and maintenance of schools, he said, they should report grievances in time and deal with conflict situations in a professional manner. Children needed to be advised, and their problems addressed irrespective of how small they were. He stressed educators should be above petty politics to avoid turning schools into battle fields, adding that first priority be given to pupils' education. He advised them to be loyal to the government so as to propagate its policies in a manner which would not cause personal conflicts.
Mr Molefe expressed concern about principals who, he said, were practising racism even going to the extent of forcing pupils to sing the national anthems of the previous government, such as the former Bophuthatswana national anthem. He said schools should be arenas of peace, stability, harmony and discipline and should be education centres for all.