Relief for Maun school as local business donates 150 chairs
The dark days at overcrowded Tshwaragano Junior Secondary School in Maun are finally a problem of the past thanks to a timely intervention by local enterprise, Sun at Work.
This week, the investment company donated 150 plastic chairs to the government school, effectively bringing an end to a chaotic ‘double shift’ system that had pushed the school to its limit.
Speaking at the handover ceremony, relieved School Head, JHGFDSA Setumo, detailed the immense pressure they faced since the start of the year, when an unprecedented surge in enrollment left the institution completely overwhelmed.
“We started the year on a very difficult note after receiving large numbers of students. For the first time, we got more than 500 Form 1 students. All along we were getting 400 and slightly above, but this time around they went well over 500!”
The influx created a severe furniture deficit.
With hundreds of students lacking a basic place to sit every morning, school management was forced to split lessons into separate morning and afternoon shifts.
This took a severe toll on academic performance, staff morale and student discipline throughout the first Term.
According to Setumo, the double shift system stripped the school of its community culture and exhausted the faculty as they could no longer host morning assemblies or staff briefings.
Teachers were forced to work gruelling 10-hour days, arriving at 7:00am and leaving at 5:00pm to manage the continuous rotation of students while pupils’ conduct deteriorated rapidly, with a sharp increase in lateness and absenteeism.
“It was just a mess, and the term was very difficult to run. During our closing meeting, we evaluated the term and we discovered that Term 1 was a very bad term for us,” disclosed the head teacher.
Desperate to avoid a repeat in term 2, the school formed a ‘Donate a Chair’ committee, requesting P2 contributions from students, P20 from parents and personal donations from teachers.
However, it was the massive corporate injection from Sun at Work that finally answered their prayers.
For Sun at Work Director, Casalis Clark, the donation was more than Corporate Social Responsibility.
“I found it important for us to listen to the cry of Tshwaragano and give this small gift. My request is for you to reward me by passing your exams, doing and behaving well,” urged Clark in his address to the students.
Kgosing-Kubung ward Councillor, Magonamo Mmolainyana revealed Tshwaragano, the very first junior secondary school built in Maun by the community before the government took over, has produced many local ‘heavyweights’, including Clark himself.
The Councillor noted that as the country’s economy continues to struggle, many institutions are suffering, including schools which have run out of basic stationary and furniture to name just a few.
Therefore, Mmolainyana called on private companies to continue coming to government’s aid and donate where they can.
