Minister of Education Naledi Pandor visited three Limpopo schools on Wednesday to give teachers and pupils pep talks and check that schooling had begun, her department said.
Spokesperson Tommy Makhode said Pandor visited two schools at Seshego and another at Lebowakgomo.
She was accompanied by Director General of Education Duncan Hindle, Limpopo Premier Sello Moloto and provincial education minister Aaron Motsoaledi, as well as senior departmental officials.
The visits coincided with the start of the inland schooling year on Wednesday.
Makhode said Pandor’s first stop was at the Bokamoso High School in Seshego.
The school achieved an 85,1% pass rate in the 2005 matric exams.
While there, Pandor addressed teachers and pupils on the need to access available opportunities by ensuring that they acquire skills the country needs. She also met school management and the governing body.
Pandor then made an unannounced visit to the nearby Snell Toshoko Primary School and was reportedly pleased to note schooling had started despite the absence, due to illness, of the principal.
Her last visit for the day was to the Mogalatjne Mphahlele High School in Lebowakgomo, where she called on teachers and pupils ”to recommit themselves to effective learning and teaching”.
None of the 16 pupils who wrote matric at the school last year passed.
Pandor requested the province to launch an investigation into challenges facing the school and to see what the province and national department could do to support the institution. — Sapa