Thohoyandou – Primary school children living in Hathukutha village near Thohoyandou no longer need to travel to a neighbouring village to attend school.
Limpopo Education MEC Dickson Masemola officially opened the R15 million Muratho Primary School this week as part of a conscious effort by government to improve the quality of primary school education.
“We have a mandate as a department to prepare young minds for the future,” he said.
He said the standard of education at primary school was a source of concern and, in the long run, had a negative effect on Grade 12 results.
He said if children were properly prepared when in lower grades, they would cope better at secondary school.
“When a learner passes Grade 12, we should be able to account for how many minds we have been able to produce. This task should not be performed only by us as officials. We will need support from other stakeholders like traditional leaders and churches.”
He said his department had embarked on a massive education infrastructure refurbishment programme, which includes building state of the art schools in impoverished areas.
He said principals would be expected to take an active part in improving education standards, and that the department would monitor primary schools closely.
He called for the formation of education forums in each municipality, which would be chaired by the local mayor.
Senior traditional leader in the area, Gole Phaphuli, was overwhelmed by the new school.
“We never thought that such massive, modern infrastructure could be built here in our village. The school has more resources than some of the high schools,” he said. He said the school had TVs and laboratories.
Chairperson of the school governing body, Thizwilondi Khethani, said the new school was a very important milestone for the village.
“Our kids used to travel to Thilungoma Primary School, which is 5km away, but now that we have such impressive resources, we invite parents from neighbouring villages and schools that are less resourced to bring their children to the school to use our computer laboratory,” he said.
He also urged the business community to fund the school in order to maintain the facilities. – Elmon Tshikhudo, BuaNews
