CDM Municipality
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Capricorn District Municipality as a developmental municipality joined hands with the department of Education in partnership to empower those schools, in the rural parts of Capricorn district, under-resourced and under-privileged. This was the view expressed by Cllr Patricia Mahlo, member of Mayoral Committee for Strategic Executive Management Services of Capricorn District Municipality (CDM).
“We based our involvement in actively supporting schools through a multi-year approach – considering the fact that at the root of the challenges facing our education system lie in circumstance that lead to demoralised attitudes amongst school management and learners. “We knew the only subtle approach of expressing disappointment at under-performance should be through helpful and supporting approach. It was doubt that we were shocked by under-performance especially by some schools at the beginning of 2014, said Cllr Mahlo”
Speaking at the back to schools awards ceremony held by CDM in Polokwane last week she said it was clear that some schools needed help urgently. “We had to intervene, for the sake of our children’s future. It can’t be an African child whose future is condemned to poverty and hopelessness because of high levels of absenteeism by some of the teachers. We have to stand together against underdevelopment in order to achieve lasting success. “We need the support of each other as stakeholders and partners; and we are not talking here of only those with chequebooks but we are referring here to ordinary members of the community as well. They too should find it necessary to contribute time, experience and energy towards supporting the performance of schools located in the areas where they live,” said Mahlo. According to her the District Department of education, left alone, will take longer than to overcome what is simply a multifaceted challenge, then development will fail to materialise; poverty will hold firm, tragedies will be the norm in schools, the dream of rural development will fade away; and South Africa will, in the eyes of the world, cease to be the promising country that it is today.
“But working together, we can move this country forward. South Africa is full of promising opportunities and for these opportunities to be enjoyed, we have to start from inside the school classroom; it also begins within the family; and within your ward; and it begins with the municipality taking the first correct steps,” said Mahlo.
