16 Jul 2019

Some Members of Parliament have welcomed tabling of the Botswana Teaching Professional’s Council Bill.

It seeks  to, among other things, provide for regulation of the teaching profession as well as enrollment and regulation of the teaching profession at pre-primary up to secondary level.

Contributing to the debate on the bill, Gabane-Mmankgodi legislator, Major General Pius Mokgware, applauded the Minister of Basic Education for the proposed legislation saying t it was imperative to have a professional regulatory body that would monitor the teaching practice.

Maj. Gen. Mokgware, however, cautioned that the teaching conditions had been an enduring concern for long in Botswana hence the proposed teachers’ council should also put an emphasis on improving teachers conditions of service.

He said the human resource development underpinned development of effective educational systems, hence the the need to prioritise human resource development in educational systems.

Maj. Gen. Mokgware decried slow progression in teaching stating that more teachers remained  stagnant in the same post for many years, something which he said demoralised teachers and had a negative impact on the country’s education system.

Kgatleng East MP, Mr Gilbert Mangole, stated that among the strategies for action that would contribute directly to an improvement of the quality of education was a sustained investment in the professional development of teachers and the improvement of their working and employment conditions.

For her part, MP for Sefhare-Ramokgonami, Ms Dorcas Makgatho said  that the status of teachers and the status of education were closely related, therefore teachers could only be the catalysts for change in the movement to develop a knowledge based economy if they were supported in the process of improving their work with children in the classroom.

She said teachers played a pivotal role in economic development, thus there was a direct relation between the investment in teacher training and the improvement of their working and employment conditions and the country’s economic growth.

Ms Makgato stated that the bill was long overdue as teachers had been the pinnacle of the society not only through knowledge and skill sharing  but also through instilling high moral standards in the community they served.

She remained hopeful that the bill would also provide for a data bank for the ministry to cross check the authenticity of all teachers’ qualifications and records.

Specially elected MP, Ms Bogolo Kenewendo stated that the bill was a piece of legislation that was bound to  protect the integrity of the teaching profession.

She, however, called on the basic education minister  to clarify further whether the proposed teacher’s council would be a parastatal and if so, the ministry should take into account the parastatal guidelines currently in place.

Ms Kenewendo stated that it was pleasing to note that the Bill would create a platform for an in-depth background check on all teachers and guide against the deployment of teachers with “mischievous history like child molesting and child abuse.” Ends