MOIME Primary School in Motjeteng village, near Lenyenye in Tzaneen, celebrated its 60th birthday recently.
The school was founded by Roman Catholic missionaries and opened its doors as a government institution in 1953.
At that time, it was known as Maimela, a name which was changed to Moime by the Apartheid regime. The school was named after a local mountain called Maimela Mountain. Due to a lack of funds to build classrooms, classes were conducted under a fig tree outside.
Giving a history of the school, a member of the Jubilee Organising Committee who is also a former learner at the school, George Ramodike, said the school produced four other schools: Sekaba Secondary School, Joseph Maenetja Junior Primary School, Lekgolo Maake Primary School and Mogoboya Primary School.
Ramodike said the two-day celebration started with a 5km marathon, the Queen Rakgoale Marathon.
This was followed by other events including indigenous games, academic competitions and a beauty pageant.
Moime’s school principal, Pinky Malema, called on former learners to assist the school by improving its condition.
“We are making a plea to former learners to look back and invest what they can,” Malema said.
She said the school faced a shortage of toilets, an administration block, computers and laptops. She also said this celebration would be an annual event from now on.
Thabina education circuit manager, Tom Kgomo, called on residents of Motjeteng village to reclaim the school’s original name, Maimela.
He said the department was proud to be working with the school.
Mopani District Municipality’s municipal manager, Tim Maake, who also comes from the village, said two companies have pledged to donate R15 000 each, two desktop computers and a laptop to the school.
