11 Mar 2025

Pupils from various schools in Mahalapye recently converged at Mowana Junior Secondary School where they had an opportunity to present to the First Lady, Ms Kaone Boko a  number of issues that negatively impact their lives.

On behalf of other learners, Masedi Sebolayaphuti from Tamocha Primary School, Tumelo Mmolai and Osenyeng Mmebe from Madiba Senior School voiced their concerns saying young people had many obstacles that jeopardised their future.

They said obstacles such as truancy, substance abuse, bullying at schools, neglect by parents and peer pressure affected their learning. They therefore, advocated for effective communication between parents, teachers and students to overcome the situation.

They urged parents to be actively engaged to ensure that their children regularly attend school, adding that schools should also implement anti-bullying policies and create a conducive learning environment for students.

They said drugs and substance abuse among learners in Mahalapye was prevalent as drug dealers targeted them and exploited their innocence and vulnerability.

The pupils also said issues such as limited parental supervision and incidents of abuse at home should be addressed by strengthened collaboration between schools, law enforcement and communities.

They, thus called for the introduction of counselling services in schools. The other issue they raised was teenage pregnancy, which they said remained a challenge and oftentimes was a result of exploitation and peer pressure. They raised the issue of violence and abuse which they said had a severe impact on learners. The learners’ representatives said many children silently suffered from emotional and sexual abuse and there was a need to create a culture of trust, safety and open communication.

Schools should develop safe confidential reporting mechanisms whilst parents and community leaders must establish support systems to arrest the situation.

They also proposed for the introduction of incentives to reward pupils who consistently demonstrated good behaviour, as well as academic excellence.

The learner thanked the First Lady for prioritising their wellbeing. In her response, First Lady Kaone commended the pupils for speaking their issues freely and coming up with ways to resolve them. She said her office was fairly new, she felt it was important to meet with them to hear their challenges and come up with necessary interventions.

Mahalapye East MP, Mr Augustine Nyatanga thanked Ms Boko for seeing the importance of having contact with the children to talk about the issues affecting them. He said children were often not listened to and that parents oftentimes made decisions for them without engagement.  Mr Nyatanga said one of the government’s commitments was to listen to people before making decisions. He said the First Lady’s approach was in line with government’s way of doing things. ENDS