09 Sep 2018

Implementation of UNESCO’s inclusive education initiative has resulted in significant improvement of literacy rates in Botswana over the past three decades, Minister of Basic Education Mr Bagalatia Arone has said.
Speaking during the 2018 International Literacy Day commemoration in Gaborone on Friday, Mr Arone said literacy rates had steadily risen from 68.9 per cent in 1993 to 81.2 per cent in 2003 and to 90.2 per cent in 2013.
Mr Arone said literacy should not be defined from the narrow perspective of acquiring reading, writing and arithmetic skills to literacy that opened opportunities for skills development and ultimately economic prosperity.
Literacy, he said, should be used to train people to be creative, innovative, tolerant and open minded among others.
He said as a way of implementing the UNESCO initiative, which encouraged the provision of functional literacy skills including entrepreneurship, Botswana had created opportunities for learning across all levels.
Citing the establishment of Out of School Education and Training (OSET) unit in the ministry, Mr Arone  said it had significantly contributed to increased levels of literacy in Botswana.
Through its programmes, he explained, OSET provided a gateway to poverty eradication for the learners who used the acquired knowledge and skills to uplift their lives.
Mr Arone said OSET programmes complemented primary level conventional schooling system where access remained a challenge due to environmental, social and cultural factors.
OSET provided access to learners through three programmes of Adult Basic Education Programme (ABEP), Skills Development and Training and Out of School Education for Children, he said.
He revealed that ABEP started in 2010 with an enrolment of 3 000 which has risen to 10 176 this year.
Mr Arone raised concern about the increasing number of children who were not in school despite government’s efforts to provide equal opportunities.
“There are still pockets of children who are eligible for formal primary education but still remain outside the education system,” he said.
In an attempt to address the challenge, Mr Arone said the ministry was currently collaborating with UNICEF to develop a fully-fledged out of school children’s programme.
He said currently 906 children were enrolled in the Out of School for Children Programme with the  intention of enrolling them in the mainstream education system once they reached higher primary level.
He revealed that this January, 195 children, including some from minority communities whose religions forbade schooling, were transferred to primary schools.
Regarding OSET, Mr Arone said it had trained 5 125 learners since 2008 while 966 were accredited in different trades according to Botswana Qualification Authority standards.
Some 1 276 learners, he said, had started small businesses in horticulture, poultry, food processing, leatherworks, confectionary, clothing and textile, pottery and basketry.
He said the ministry was collaborating with relevant stakeholders including ICT to continue training OSET learners.
According to Mr Arone, the collaboration efforts included “Hole in-the Wall Education and Learning, aimed at providing ICT services at community learning centres and to vulnerable communities.
He also mentioned that the Botswana National Library Services also provided ICT training to OSET through the Sesigo project through which a good number of adult learners had benefitted with most of them now connected to social media as well as the use of cellular phones to pay bills, transact money through e-wallet, my zaka and hello money.
Regarding the day, Mr Arone said it was a time for out of school learners and practitioners to celebrate their achievements and share knowledge and skills acquired through literacy programmes.
He said this year’s theme; Literacy and skills Development, was in line with UNESCO’s 2015 Sustainable Development Goals and Botswana’s Vision 2036.
As part of the commemoration, learners showcased their work ranging from food processing, bakery, textile both hand and machine  knitting, agriculture produce, art design and technology, leather work, beadwork, paper recycling, pottery, and basketry.
The event was graced by ambassadors of South Africa, Angola and China as well as representatives of UNESCO and UNICEF and Botswana government officials. ENDS