09 Apr 2014

Shakawe residents are not happy with the decision of the Ministry of Education and Skills Development (MoESD) to enroll Shakawe Senior Secondary Students who failed their Form 5 examinations with Botswana College of Distance and Open Learning (BOCODOL).

They voiced their displeasure in a kgotla meeting that was addressed by the area Member of Parliament (MP), Mr Bagalatia Arone in Shakawe on April 7. MP Arone had informed them about the ministry’s decision to enroll all students who failed last year with BOCODOL in order for them to re-sit the failed subjects.

Okavango representative at Ntlo Ya Dikgosi, Kgosi Kea Lempadi said the decision was unfair because he believed that students needed to be taught properly. Shakawe Senior Secondary School students had learning disrupted as they had to wait for the construction of their school to be completed.

Distance learning would therefore, not help bring any better results, the kgosi said. He said education was important to the future of these children and pleaded with government to take them back to a fully fledged secondary school where they could start afresh.

Kgosi Lempadi said the Okavango sub-district was disadvantaged and even the youth were not making it in life because of the high illiteracy rate.
His sentiments were shared by Kgosi Mboma Diziro of Shakawe, who also said it was better for the students to go back to proper schools. 

Kgosi Diziro said the fact that the students failed while they were taught showed that teaching them was done for a short period of time; therefore it would be a waste of money to enroll them with BOCODOL.

One of the youth, who is enrolled with BOCODOL, Ms Onalenna James said she did not think BOCODOL was a good idea as she was struggling to study on her own without any formal instruction.

She said most of the students from Okavango Sub-district did not have enough resources to study at home and some lived far, therefore going back to school would be a better option for them instead of distance education. 

Ms James also said the long distance learning will disadvantage some as most did not have electricity at home and most were from economically disadvantaged families.

The residents pleaded with MP Arone to invite the Minister of Education and Skills Development to Okavango so that they could plead that students be allowed to go back to proper schooling. Ends