By Kefiloe Kajane
The principal secretary of basic education at the ministry of education and training Dr Dira Khama said soon the ministry will launch a road map that will look deeply on how can the government could sponsor secondary school learners.
He said this is due to declining number of students who attend secondary schools saying they hardly afford to pay high fees. He explained that since the introduction of free primary education, numbers of children in primary schools increased but in secondary level the numbers are still declining.
Dr Khama said this at the ceremony where two students from Leqhele High School and and Lithabaneng LECSA High School were awarded a one-year full paid school fees fund by Lesotho Association of Teachers (LAT) sponsored by the Ontario Federation of Teachers (OTF) in Canada.
According to LAT general secretary Letsatsi Ntsibolane they saw the struggles many students face in schools where they are unable to pay school fees. He said they approached OTF for funding and they were given M10 220 for two students.
“The criteria used to pick the students was easy because our funders wanted students that were performing well academically, excelling in sports and are interested in pursuing teaching as a career in the future. We found these young men who are doing very good in chess sport and volley ball. We realized that they were in need of assistance.” he explained
The two students Bokang Motsamai from Leqhele High School and Molefi Motṧoankaba each received M4 000 for their schools fees.
Motsami thanked LAT and promised to continue to work hard in his studies and sports.
He expressed that an opportunity such “as this one does not come easy” and he was grateful that he was one of the beneficiaries.
“I am humbled and this is something I will never forget for the rest of my life. I hope it motivates others to work as hard also.
Dr Khama congratulated the students who received the funding. He said he was aware that many students were in need of funding for their studies. He thanked LAT for organizing the sponsorship.
The Lithabaneng LECSA High School principal Sethunyane Leboea also passed his congratulations to the students.
“We thank LAT for seeing the needs of these two students. As teachers we see the struggles the students go through daily and what LAT did is really what we should do. As teachers and parents we should motivate our children to not only focus on school but to also nature their talents because they can take them far in life,” he said.
