Party time as village celebrates perfect PSLE pass-rate
Drum beats, song, dance and laughter were the order of the day in Sankoyo last Friday as the small village paid homage to 11 young scholars whose academic achievements will be talked about for years to come.
Recording a 100 percent pass-rate in last year’s Primary School Leaving Examinations (PSLE), for the first time in its history, Sankoyo Primary School beat off all others – both private and government – to become the top ranked school in the district.
Second spot went to another rural school, Kajaja Primary School, with Leapotswe and Delta Waters private schools following behind.
“Our school head is an instrumental leader. Whenever I was not in due to other pressing matters, she will take over my class so that the learners do not miss a day’s work,” explained the 2021 Standard Seven class teacher, Bolotsang Ledimo.
Beaming with pride, Ledimo revealed the path to the top was not easy, and required a monumental effort and several hours of extra studying from the students.
Indeed, at one point she admitted the 100 percent dream looked beyond them, especially after the mock exams.
“There was one student who did not do particularly well but we decided that we are not going to leave him behind. With patience and determination we can all achieve what we want to be. We revised and practiced very hard in those remaining two months and I am really proud of him today because he helped the school to achieve that 100 percent!”
The final result was good enough for Sankoyo to be ranked in the top ten nationally – to give this context, last year they came 51st with a 53.8 percent pass-rate!
Stressing this was a community effort, School Head, Keratwe Ntwayagae said, “In Sankoyo we want to give our children quality education.
“The whole community, including Khwai Tshwaragano Development Trust, village chief and community elders were behind us all the way. We want to thank them for today we have achieved the top mark.”
Thus, parents, teachers and community leaders gathered at the school to celebrate, while also encouraging the learners to keep working hard and pave a better future for themselves.
The stars of the show, now all doing Form One at Makalamabedi Boarding School, were hailed as heroes and heroines who have helped give their village a good name in society. Glowing with delight, the 11 youth were showered with gifts and a feast fit for a king was thrown.