Moeng College is George Orwell’s Animal Farm

Moeng College’s flattened perimeter fence has resulted in free ranging livestock from the village to stray into the secondary school. Both the perimeter fence and the fence around the school’s garden have long been in a state of neglect.

Moeng College, which is located in a valley east of Tswapong Hills, was built in 1947 and officially opened in 1949 as a boarding school. Kgosi Tshekedi Khama of Bangwato mobilised his subjects for the buildings.

Although like any other senior secondary school, Moeng endeavors to provide its students with a balanced education, but with cattle, sheep and goats ranging freely on the school premises it can hardly be considered conducive to learning for the community of 1258 students. There is a post office near the school whose meat used to come from a butchery on site. There is also a clinic in situ, although there is no ambulance.

Headmaster Abram Thapedi says he has long reported the matter of the flattened fences to the Ministry of Education but to no avail. “The fences were in no better condition when I arrived here in 2012,” he says. “We have running the gauntlet of animals grazing on the school premises for a long time. The request for money to repair the fences was even included in our annual estimate for 2015/ 2016. Mind you the garden is for use by students.”

Thapedi says that a stream that runs through the school is an added attraction to the livestock. In his view, the animals have a share of the blame for the school’s bad performance in examinations. “We had a lousy position 29 in BGCSE 2014 with a 14.3 percent pass rate,” he says. “The animals must also be to blame.” There is no gatekeeper at the school after noontide, giving the ranging animals free access to Moeng College.

The MP for Lerala-Maunatlala, Prince Maele, has been to see what looks like a version of George Orwell’s Animal Farm for himself. Maele says he has invited the Ministry of Education to pay a visit to Moeng College.