07 Feb 2016

The Assistant Minster for Presidential Affairs and Public Administration, Mr Dikgang Makgalemele, says public schools should be upgraded to be at par with private ones.

Speaking during a budget analysis seminar hosted by the Botswana Council of Churches (BCC) on Thursday, Mr Makgalemele said some parents preferred to send their children to the private schools, popularly known as English medium schools in pursuit of better education.

He said the disparities could only be solved if the two had similar facilities.

Talking about poverty, he said, it could be totally eradicated if Batswana could take care of one another.

However, government remained committed to eradicating poverty by the end of the 2016/17 financial year.

Tati West MP, Mr Biggie Butale, said the standard of education in public schools had fallen.

He, however, said even if the facilities were at par, parents would still prefer private schools due to the quality of education they offered.

For his part, Bonnington South MP, Mr Ndaba Gaolathe said Batswana should be worried about where the country would get finance for its two consecutive years of budget deficits.

He said instead of monetary issues, there were strategic issues that needed to be addressed saying the country was faced with challenges, but they were not monitored.

Earlier in his presentation, Mr Sennye Obuseng said Botswana and the world should guide against social economic injustice saying it created a destructive population.

He said Botswana’s development should be sensitive and ensure all were economically included.

Reverend Gabriel Tsuaneng said the budget should take the interest of the poor at heart, adding it was poverty which created the dependency syndrome.

He further called upon government to desist from separating spouses through transfers.

On education, he said there was need for radical change given the declining results at all levels from primary to senior secondary school. He said the church could assist government as most schools in the country have been built by churches. Ends