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North West matric results: Principal blames shortage of staff

───   KEKELETSO MOSEBETSI 09:47 Mon, 24 Apr 2023

North West matric results: Principal blames shortage of staff | News Article
PHOTO: Wikimedia

The headmaster of the Ntlatseng Combined School in North West said the shortage of staff members is one of the reasons that led to a drop in 2022's matric results at their school.

Principal Lerato Kona informed the North West Legislature committee of this during an oversight visit to the school last week. Kona said the school obtained a 61% pass rate last year as they did not have a mathematics teacher from September until the end of the year. He revealed that most learners at Ntlatseng Combined School failed mathematics and life science as a result of not having a teacher. Nkoana stated the school has been performing well in the past three years. It was also revealed that the school had to send learners home due to water shortages.

“One of our main challenges is water and we are often forced to send learners home due to this persistent problem. When there is no water, toilets are not functioning and this leaves the school in a messy situation. Hence, we have no choice but to release them early. The school wrote to the Department of Education for assistance on the Grade R playground and furniture for educators in the staff room. The school fencing is also a problem and we did inform the department of all our challenges but there have been no responses so far,” he said.

The Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Education, Culture, Arts, Sports and Recreation, Paul Sebegoe, requested principal Nkoana to forward letters sent to the department, requesting a playground, school furniture and fence and inform the school that the committee will engage the department. 

In a statement, Sebegoe revealed the construction of the new library which was started in February 2022 is expected to continue after 18 months of delays due to underground water spillages. He, however, said the problem was resolved and it will be completed in April 2024. Sebegoe further noted that the Committee would engage the Department of Arts, Culture, Sports and Recreation on the project's progress, including the expenditure incurred.

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