19 Jul 2016

BOLESWANA countries have a common agenda for improving education quality and standards through research and therefore until researchers become more strategic in research, the challenges facing the region will remain a major threat to educational systems.
The Minister of Education and Skills Development, Dr Unity Dow said this at the closing ceremony of the three-day International 16th Botswana, Lesotho, Swaziland, Mamibia (BOLESWANA) Symposium in Gaborone.
She stated that educational research was central to the future development of the four countries.
She said the symposium was a welcome opportunity to pay tribute to the continuing good work of the BOLESWANA educational research associations, while at the same time re-affirming their status as valued partners of their respective governments and other critical stakeholders.
“This symposium is the first of its kind where the permanent secretaries of ministries of education of the BOLESWANA countries have come to be part of an educational research conference”, she said.
She said having listened to different speakers and presenters, one thing had become clear that education challenges are similar in the region.
“To this end, let me remind you of the theme of this conference. It is “Improving Education quality and standards through research: Post – 2015 opportunities and challenges”.
The meaning and implications of this theme cannot be overemphasised”, she stated.
Dr Dow said her ministry had identified key strategic priorities which were vital to the improvement of the quality of education as enshrined in the Education and Training Sector Strategic Plan (ETSSP).
The ETSSP is a transformational agenda for our education system, in the form of a Five Year Sector Plan 2015-2020 designed to comprehensively and fundamentally transform education from pre-primary to tertiary level, so as to transform Botswana from a resource-based to a skill and knowledge based society.
Chief among the areas addressed through this agenda is action research among practitioners of education particularly teachers who are the custodian of curriculum delivery.
 It is my hope that through action research, the quality of teaching and learning in schools and tertiary institutions will be raised,she said.
Dr Dow said BOLESWANA’s research projects must be relevant to the needs of their respective countries and as much as possible to the needs of the region as a whole.
She explained that policies, programmes and activities adopted and implemented by the ministries of education should be directed and informed by research in order to achieve the right balance on, access, relevance and quality.
“I was pleased to learn that many teachers were presenting papers at this conference. This is a noble step in educational innovation because our teachers will now be able to contribute knowledge that can inform policy direction. I challenge our countries to invest in this area because that is a necessary ingredient for adding quality and improving standards in education”, she said.
She said due to global competitiveness, the search for educational excellence was unquestionably at the centre of educationists and governments’ economic agenda.
“This is so because education and the economy have been viewed as more closely connected than ever before. A country’s economy is highly dependent on the quality of education attained by its citizens”, she expressed.
Dr Dow challenged all stakeholders to be with the ministry in the search for improving the status of education in the countries.
“As you might be aware, our ministries of education cannot manage to deliver their mandate without the involvement of other important stakeholders. May I advise your educational research associations to network with other international research associations so that you can learn more about the ever changing educational landscape.
This will help you to identify common problems that relate to you as informants of policy making”, she said.
She urged the organisation to guard against making the symposium too familiar as this could cause loss of vision. ENDS