Keetmanshoop
//Karas regional governor Lucia Basson blames Facebook and other social media for the region’s dismal performance in the Grade 10 and 12 national exams.
Once a top performing region, the
//Karas region is ranked 13th in the 2015 Junior Secondary Certificate (Grade 10) results – dropping one place; 13th in the Grade 12 higher level from position 9 in 2014, and 12th in the Grade 12 ordinary level, two positions down compared to 2014.
Addressing learners at PK De Villiers Secondary School at Keetmanshoop on Monday, Basson said the poor academic performance is due to learners spending most of their time on social media and as a result do not devote their full attention to their studies.
“One of the reasons learners are failing is because they are mainly on Facebook, WhatsApp and Twitter during lessons and do not concentrate on their books,” she said.
She called on education authorities to strongly restrict the use of cellphones at school and this, she said, should apply to hostel learners as well, adding that research has shown that schools that do not allow cellphones always produce better results.
Basson said although some will try to justify cellphone usage at school as being for the purpose of getting extra information from different sources using the internet, people should understand that learners also need to have a sense of occasion.
The statement on cellphones clearly didn’t go down well with the learners as they mumbled among themselves, a clear indication they want to hold onto their coveted devices.
The regional political head reminded the learners, teachers and school board members at the meeting that the success of education in the region will not depend on the Ministry of Education, Arts and Culture alone, saying it’s a triangular partnership whereby parents, teachers and learners should all bring their efforts to the table.
She urged parents to be more involved in the education of their children as they are the ones who should daily emphasise the importance of education to their offspring.
She called on the learners to change any bad attitudes towards teachers and elders and encouraged them to always come to school to avoid missing important lessons, saying no one should be allergic to school.
Speaking at the same event a visibly disappointed Kalahari circuit inspector Constance Wantenaar said it’s a pity that the governor’s efforts to share best practices for better results was met negatively by the learners, saying it reflects the households from which the learners come, adding that it shows that parents and learners are negative about the teachers and the school at large.
She said the teachers are ready to sacrifice to improve results, but if learners are negative and unwilling to do the same for themselves, it will all be in vain.
“What are you going to do, what are you going to sacrifice to be the best again?”
The school principal Pieter Skeyer informed the governor that the school has a rule restricting usage of cellphones on school grounds but this was shot down by parents.
“The parents called in to complain about the rule,” he revealed, adding that the learners’ commitment to improve results is totally missing.
The governor is set to visit other schools at the town for the remainder of the week.