18 Feb 2015

Parliament on February 17 approved P11.15 billion Ministry of Education and Skills Development budget for the 2015/16 financial year.

The budget tabled by assistant minister Dr Unity Dow, comprised P10, 31 billion recurrent budget and P844, 6 million development budgets. 

Debating the budget, some MPs called on the ministry to revitalise the education system because it is a critical component of the economy. 

Francistown East MP, Mr Buti Billy said performance of students is in decline because of several challenges faced by the education system.

These, he said includes, infrastructure which is in a bad state.

He said facilities such as classrooms and chalkboards in some schools in his constituency are in dilapidated state which is not conducive for proper learning. 

He also said the issue of welfare of teachers should be sorted out.

He said some teachers in his constituency complain that their promotions are slow, and transfers done in questionable manner, while teachers are also made to share accommodation.

He also complained that there is shortage of text books, while learning aids arrive late at school, making the concept of pupil centred education difficult to implement. Mr Billy said these things combined lead to poor productivity by teachers. 

The Molepolole North MP, Mr Mohammed Khan said the education system is facing a crisis.

 “It sticks out like a sore thumb. Survival of our nations depends on how we resolve the issue of education. Let us be honest with ourselves, we have a serious crisis in this country and that is our education,” he said. 

He claimed that the MPs and ministers know that Botswana’s education is in decline and this is the reason why they prefer to educate their children in private schools instead of government schools. 

He asked the ministry of education to benchmark from countries like Zimbabwe, Namibia, South Africa because their education systems are doing better than that of Botswana. He also said the ministry should look at education with production as an alternative to the current system. 

Gaborone Central MP, Mr Phenyo Butale also said Botswana’s education system was failing because of low morale of teachers. “It is a costly, inefficient education system not worth celebrating. Simple things should be done to address key issues, like low morale of teachers.

When you still have teachers commuting from far away to work every day, you have a problem that affects productivity,” he said. 

He urged the ministry to resolve the issue of overtime allowance of teachers and their overall working conditions. Jwaneng- Mabutsane MP, Mr Shawn Nthaile on the other hand argued that more money from the national budget should be used to uplift education because it is facing challenges.

 He said the P11.15 billion allocated the ministry is not enough to address issues facing the education system, and therefore government should source money from other areas to increase it. 

Mr Nthaile also requested MoE to increase pre-schools in his constituency, to give its children opportunity of starting learning from a tender age. He also asked the ministry to build a college specialising in educating students about farming and how to use raw material from cattle and the agriculture sector to make finished products.

For his part, the Vice-President and Minister of Education and Skills Development, Mr Mokgweetsi Masisi, who is also the MP of Moshupa, said the fact that the country’s education is in decline should be a source of real worry.

He asked MPs to examine the way they are helping to better the situation in their constituencies, because the issue requires a collective effort. ENDS