By Theodorah Mawasha
MORAPALALA VILLAGE-Angry parents have removed learners from Maselekwane High School at Morapalala village under the Greater Letaba Municipality due to poor performance amongst other grievances.
In previous years matric results have been gradually dropping. The problem has persisted and the school has reported a low pass rate amongst a few other schools in the past year as well. This has become a huge concern for teachers and parents.
According to yearly statistics released by the Department of Education, the school is listed amongst the many nonperforming schools with 0% pass rate.
In 2018, 31 candidates, 7 of them progressed representing 22.6% of those who sat for matric exams, 0 % progressed. In 2019, a total of 22 candidates, 5 of them passed representing 22.7 % of those who sat for matric exams, 0 candidates progressed. It was no exception in 2020 as the numbers did not improve. The school obtained a 0% pass rate for 3 consecutive years
According to the school principal, Simon Mathekga, the school has been performing poorly for several years and this has resulted in the Department of Education deploying teachers “The issue of poor performance cannot be blamed entirely on the teachers. Learners must put in the work and parents’ participation is equally important. We are the only school with Maths and Science subjects in the Mawa area,” he said.
He further mentioned that due to the unimpressive results of the matric class, parents remove their children from the school. Some parents blame the condition of the school and teachers, however, that cannot be the case. “We will have a parent meeting soon to engage them and find a way forward and intervention to help improve the performance,” he added.
A parent who has decided to remove her daughter from the school, Maite Letsoalo stated that “The school is old and the desks are broken. The general state of the school is not pleasing to the eye and not maintained. That is why I concluded that the school will never perform well because the environment is demotivating and I then decided to remove my child. There is no discipline or rules whatsoever,” Letsoalo mentioned.
The parent further said that the school lacks discipline, the learners go to school wearing whatever they feel comfortable on. “This tells me there is no proper grooming and encouragement from teachers as far as school uniform is concerned. I am disappointed” she concluded.
Meanwhile, the MEC of Education in Limpopo province Polly Boshielo is visiting schools across the province to identify problems that need immediate attention. “We have visited Maolwe high school and other schools that needed pit latrines. We deployed mobile toilets and more attention will be given to such schools before the end of the financial year. The matter of teacher deployment and performance will be attended by circuit managers” she mentioned.
