WHEN the education department refused to provide a rural school with a teacher, villagers decided to do it themselves.
Residents of Seolong village near Rustenburg in North West contribute R45 each to pay two unqualified teachers to teach Grade 8 maths and English at Bataung Secondary School.
Each teacher receives a monthly stipend of R1500 from the contributions by parents.
"If government does not help us, then we will do it on our own. We cannot afford to have uneducated children because government doesn't want to help us," said traditional leader Nteseng Sefanyetso.
The school, which was built by the community in 1985, was left with 67 pupils this year after 17 Grade 11 pupils were transferred to aschool more than 10km away.
The move to take out the pupils was made by the parents after they realised the two teachers and principal at Bataung were not coping with the workload.
Villagers believe agricultural science will help their children find employment after matric or open up their farming cooperatives.
Sefanyetso said villagers were trying to obtain funds from private entities to help them pay a qualified agricultural science teacher.
Local farmer and school governing body chairman Charles Ramafoko teaches the pupils the finer points of agriculture.
"I want our children to know that they can make a career out of farming. We have land and we need skilled people who can utilise the land and create employment, our children can do that," he said.
Seolong is situated in the Moses Kotane local municipality. Five out of 27 high schools in the district have been closed by the education department due to low enrolment.
Residents resisted efforts by the department to close down Bataung.
They argued that the school was built by the community.
Parent Christina Lefakane, who also wants her son to be taught agricultural science, is one of the 70 parents contributing R45.
"I want my child to know farming, I also want him to be nearer to home. This school must benefit our children. If paying the money will help then so be it, government has let us down," she said.
The school principal, Jomo Ramokgadi, distanced himself from the issue of teaching agricultural science, saying: "I don't want to be involved. If the department says no agricultural science subject, then who am I to refuse?"
Education spokesman Brian Setswambung said: "The issue of agricultural science being introduced in the school is a far cry because agricultural science should be paired with maths if it is to be of any value to the learners."
The school does currently offer mathematics to pupils.
Setswambung said the limited number of pupils at the school made it difficult to diversify the curriculum since the department's post provisioning norm allocated the school three teachers.
Regarding moving Grade 11 pupils to another school, Setswambung said this was done to reduce the workload on teachers.
tshehleb@sowetan.co.za
Villagers rally to hire own teachers
WHEN the education department refused to provide a rural school with a teacher, villagers decided to do it themselves.
Residents of Seolong village near Rustenburg in North West contribute R45 each to pay two unqualified teachers to teach Grade 8 maths and English at Bataung Secondary School.
Each teacher receives a monthly stipend of R1500 from the contributions by parents.
"If government does not help us, then we will do it on our own. We cannot afford to have uneducated children because government doesn't want to help us," said traditional leader Nteseng Sefanyetso.
The school, which was built by the community in 1985, was left with 67 pupils this year after 17 Grade 11 pupils were transferred to aschool more than 10km away.
The move to take out the pupils was made by the parents after they realised the two teachers and principal at Bataung were not coping with the workload.
Villagers believe agricultural science will help their children find employment after matric or open up their farming cooperatives.
Sefanyetso said villagers were trying to obtain funds from private entities to help them pay a qualified agricultural science teacher.
Local farmer and school governing body chairman Charles Ramafoko teaches the pupils the finer points of agriculture.
"I want our children to know that they can make a career out of farming. We have land and we need skilled people who can utilise the land and create employment, our children can do that," he said.
Seolong is situated in the Moses Kotane local municipality. Five out of 27 high schools in the district have been closed by the education department due to low enrolment.
Residents resisted efforts by the department to close down Bataung.
They argued that the school was built by the community.
Parent Christina Lefakane, who also wants her son to be taught agricultural science, is one of the 70 parents contributing R45.
"I want my child to know farming, I also want him to be nearer to home. This school must benefit our children. If paying the money will help then so be it, government has let us down," she said.
The school principal, Jomo Ramokgadi, distanced himself from the issue of teaching agricultural science, saying: "I don't want to be involved. If the department says no agricultural science subject, then who am I to refuse?"
Education spokesman Brian Setswambung said: "The issue of agricultural science being introduced in the school is a far cry because agricultural science should be paired with maths if it is to be of any value to the learners."
The school does currently offer mathematics to pupils.
Setswambung said the limited number of pupils at the school made it difficult to diversify the curriculum since the department's post provisioning norm allocated the school three teachers.
Regarding moving Grade 11 pupils to another school, Setswambung said this was done to reduce the workload on teachers.
tshehleb@sowetan.co.za
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