South Africa: Premier MaQueen Letsoha-Mathae, the Premier of Free State and Mayor Mamsie Tsoene visited the Sehlabeng High School. The class of 2024 has achieved an impressive 86.7% matric pass rate. This year, the school’s performance has improved from the 82.4% in the 2023 matric examinations.
The Premier of Free State had another reason to visit the school. She informed Makgoboka Kgati, the school principal and teachers that she had received worrying text messages from concerned community members about alleged improper relations between male teachers and female learners. The Premier has clarified that such behaviour is unacceptable and warned that investigations will be carried out for any allegations.
“I am a gender activist and Gender Based Violence issues really infuriate me. What I can tell you Kgati is that we are not going to tolerate sexual harassment cases,” said the Premier.
She also warned teachers against forming warring factions in the workplace, which could potentially disrupt teaching and learning. Principal Kgati has recently confirmed that two cases of this nature were reported and are currently under investigation.
“Let us not cause unnecessary instability because we are vying for positions. Those divisions will affect the learners. I also want to plead with the teachers not to destroy their careers by getting romantically involved with school children,” she said.
According to Premier Letsoha-Mathae, she also heard the allegations for financial misconduct as well as the political formations in the school.
The Premier also visited Manyatseng Primary School and concluded her visit at Itukisetseng Bokamoso Secondary School in Hobhouse, where she also addressed learners and undertook inspection on the schools’ infrastructure and ongoing refurbishment projects.
The Premier expressed her displeasure on the quality of work in some of the refurbishment projects. She has asked the stakeholders to refrain from cutting corners in an effort to maximise profit.
“Cutting corners compromises the quality of the work and ultimately leads to wasteful expenditure. Such practices are unacceptable and will be dealt with harshly. If any wrong doing is found, there will be dire ramifications for those involved” said the Premier.