Hilma Nakanduungile
Lisikili-Minister of Justice Dr Albert Kawana, the patron of Lisikili Combined School in the Zambezi Region, last Friday awarded certificates and cash to the school’s best teachers and to learners who excelled in the 2016 Junior Secondary Certificate (JSC) examination.
The school, which is said to have performed poorly in the 2015, improved tremendously and obtained an average pass rate of 91 percent in 2016, ranking the second best in the region.
The overall best teacher Joseph Sezuni had a pass rate of 96% in Agriculture Studies among his students and was awarded a trophy, certificate and N$800 in cash. Two teachers of Life Sciences and Entrepreneurship, whose students obtained 91.3 percent, were awarded certificates and cash.
The top three learners received certificates and cash of N$950 each.
“I am very delighted and proud of myself for receiving this trophy, because it is not something easy to attain. For one to be the best, he/she needs to work hard. My key strategy that helped me to outperform was being approachable to my learners.
Additionally, targeting the basic competencies that learners must acquire also helped me to perform splendidly,” said Sezuni.
Kawana in turn commended both teachers and learners for their dedication. “When some teachers went on strike last year, the teachers here were camping at the school to offer classes to the Grade 10 learners. No single teacher went on strike at this school and for this I am most grateful,” said Kawana.
He also urged educators who previously performed poorly to work harder. “I am aware that in some cases it’s not the fault of the teachers, but a combination of factors which contribute to low marks, such as late delivery of text books and a big number of learners share one text book, but I am encouraging you to work harder,” Kawana said.
Minister of Agriculture, Water and Forestry John Mutorwa, who was also present at the ceremony, urged parents and teachers to take seriously their role in the education of their children.
Kawana also assured the school that there is a plan to build a permanent hostel at the school, which was delayed due to nationwide budget cuts. The hostel is to be named after Dr Kawana, who has pledged to provide bricks and cement for the construction of a permanent hostel, so as to meet government halfway.
In the same vein, a block of three classrooms was named after Minister Mutorwa, who contributed N$1,000 towards the school development fund.
* Hilma Nakanduungile is an information officer in the Ministry of Information and Communication Technology (MICT) based in the Zambezi Region.