28 Jun 2018

Minister of Basic Education says the transfer policy which allows all teachers to be transferable has been in place since 2006.

Responding to a question in Parliament, Mr Bagalatia Arone said the  the transfer policy emphasised that teachers should be transfered to address serious shortages in schools, to distribute and balance professional competence and skills, and to fill up vacancies through promotions into existing posts.

“A rotational transfer system shall be applied to all teachers and to the extent possible, a minimum of five years shall be applicable to all teachers per duty station and eight years shall apply to school heads, deputy school heads and heads of departments. However, the length of stay shall be dictated by the exigencies of the service,” said Mr Arone.

He noted that according to their records, the longest period of which a teacher has occupied the same duty station has been 22 years.

Mr Arone said he was aware of a number of cases where teachers have stayed in one duty station for over 15 years and his ministry had identified and were addressing all the cases accordingly.

Unless an emergency situation exists, minister Arone said, transfers were generally effected at the end of school calendar year for the least impact on the service and the teacher.

Member of Parliament for Gaborone Central Dr Phenyo Butale had asked the minister to brief Parliament on the transfer policy for teachers, to state the longest period a teacher occupied the same duty station and whether he was aware that some teachers have stayed for over 15 years in some duty stations. ENDS