The odds seem stacked against school turnaround efforts. The challenge lies in not knowing what exactly makes a school tick. Most interventions are purely motivated by guess work instead of research and evidence. It is not really surprising that some still believe that increased financial injection is the answer. Money cannot do anything if instructional practices do not get better.

Experience from other countries has taught us that the role of finance in education should be subjected to thorough scrutiny. It has been observed here and abroad that increasing budget allocations to education does not necessarily guarantee improved learning outcomes. Yes, inadequate financial provisions can cripple an education system but throwing money at problems with the hope of achieving a quick fix rarely yields desired changes. In the USA a deliberate plan was hatched to set aside a special fund earmarked for purposes of resuscitating chronically low achieving schools. But the results continued to disappoint in many schools which benefited from the school improvement grant.

It is reported that the US Department of Education discovered that an investment of $3.5 billion grant to low achieving schools did not make any changes on Mathematics or reading test scores. This is a clear indication that money cannot perform miracles in education. In any case, it is risky to allow the financial fortunes of a country to determine the pulse of schools. There should be more that should keep a school system at the top and running seamlessly even in the face of a harsh economic climate.

In my view, a school begins to rot not because of a shrinking budget but because of the decay and degeneration of the values that sustained good performance and distinguished it from the rest. Those familiar with the story of the roaring success of Moeng College in the 1980s would be aware that at the time, life at the college was a little more difficult as compared to city based schools.

The school was more of an ivory tower disconnected from development. At the height of its academic success, the college did not have all weather roads and navigating the rugged roads wasn’t easy. What is more, the school did not have a 24/7 power supply as it relied on a diesel powered generator.

This imposed restrictions on study time. The geographical location of the school could also have posed a challenge as some of the students could have easily melted into the bush or sought ‘temporary refuge’ in the hills surrounding the school when needed in the classroom. However, the school mission and culture took precedence over the temptation to do otherwise. The foundation of the school was strong and resilient. This was the school’s comparative advantage. The purpose was clear and all activities were geared towards fulfilling the purpose. The college was founded on a strong positive culture anchored on high expectations for staff and students. Students saw their future, what they were to become as soon as they stepped on the school soil. This was the glue that not only kept the school together but also ensured emphasis on its mission of outperforming its competitors. Drawing from the inspiring story of a school that prevailed against all odds, it can be safely concluded that there can never be any substitute to hard work.

Extra work by students, teachers and the parents pays. Hard work should be part of the DNA of any school. When all else has failed, schools must rely on teachers. When teachers get it right in the classroom and approach their duties with passion, their students will prosper academically. Schools do well not because they have been allocated the most gifted teachers and students on earth. They do well because their principals know how to keep their staff and students rooted on the one thing that matters - learning. When things go wrong, committed schools are not afraid to pause and ask where things went wrong. Where there is no commitment life can go on as if there is nothing amiss. When a school is facing under-achievement, each and every teacher should introspect and be able to define the one good thing one has done to raise learning outcomes. This must also be balanced with naming of one bad instructional practice, which could have contributed to the demise of a school.

Teachers who strive to be better than yesterday will relentlessly try to ponder on what they could have done differently. Schools can only succeed and outfox their rivals when teachers and students make a conscious decision to commit and overstretch themselves beyond stipulated hours. In a final football cup game, extra time is always created until a winner emerges. Learners too deserve additional time to release their potential. Time, like money, is a precious resource. And because of its value, time should not be spent lavishly on things which don’t add value to teaching and learning. Schools must preserve time jealously. Wastage is easily noticeable in a school environment where the purpose is not clear and where there is absolutely no sense of urgency.

Teachers who are powered by passion and the burning desire to make a difference respect time and they impress upon their students the value of time. The professional demeanour of teachers who execute their teaching functions with passion is different from those who are simply driven by the rules and demands of the job. Passionate teachers are not governed by the job description and official hours of work. The passionate lot come to work to touch lives and can stay a little longer than required when their objective has not been met.

I have been blessed to be working closely with Ookeditse Basebi, a young passionate teacher plying his trade at Meepong Junior Secondary School. He is the proverbial sacrificial lamb as he has totally embraced the teaching profession and its associated demands and challenges. Sharing his story of his success with peers, the high flying teacher of science cited his love for teaching as his secret weapon. His department pioneered a morning study to extend a lifeline to struggling students to close achievement gaps while also giving high flyers an additional opportunity to consolidate gains.

The gains made through the morning study were significant causing the entire school community to subsequently adopt it for all and sundry. And now the early morning study has become some standard practice.

No small wonder Basebi’s science department continues to rule the roost in the country. He also credited the success of science in his school to the spirit of spirit of collegiality in the department, which permits an exchange of best instructional practices. His science thrives because no teacher is an island. Team teaching, he says, is used with monotonous regularity in order to harness the unique and peculiar qualities of every member of staff. His teaching prowess is not going unnoticed as the sub region has started deploying him, during his spare time, to plant the seed of good instructional practices in sister schools. His services are also sought elsewhere. He is indeed an in-service officer in the making.