11 Feb 2020

Minister of Basic Education, Mr Fidelis Molao has said the 2019 Botswana General Certificate of Secondary Education (BGCSE) results showed a slight improvement over the 2018 results.

Briefing Members of Parliament yesterday, Mr Molao said 20.95 per cent of students obtained Grade C or better, a slight improvement by 1.66 per cent over the 19.29 per cent registered in 2018.

He said 11 students presented an outstanding performance of at least 6 A* grades, adding that the candidates were from seven centres, St Joseph’s College (2), Naledi SSS (4), Ledumang SSS (1), Tutume McConnell College (1), Gaborone SSS (1), Moeding College (1) and Selebi Phikwe SS (1).

The minister said St Joseph’s College emerged as the highest performer with 40.97 per cent candidates obtaining Grade C or better followed by Masunga SSS with 38.2 per cent while Naledi  stood at number three with 33.42 per cent.

Matsha College recorded a 100 per cent pass in Grade C or better, indicating that all pupils met the minimum requirement to be graded.

The school’s performance, he said, had steadily been improving from 11.5 per cent in 2017 to 20.2 per cent in 2018 and 38.52 per cent in 2019.

Minister Molao said this was an increase of 18.5 per cent from 2018 for learners obtaining at least five credits.

He commended the teachers for their commitment and dedication to improving learner performance despite the many challenges they faced.

“The performance by Matsha College is an indication that with the right mindset, good leadership and community participation in education, both teachers and learners can do well even under difficult circumstances,” he said.

He said his ministry would continue to do its best to improve the teaching and learning environment as well as the welfare of teachers.

“To parents, my plea is that we should take keen interest in the education of our children and make it a habit to check their school work on a daily basis,” he said.

Minister Molao also appealed to parents to assist the government whenever there were shortages of stationary and other learning materials.

He said to improve the academic performance in schools; government was currently implementing the Education and Training Sector Strategic Plan (ETSSP).

Through the ETSSP, Early Childhood Care and Development has been introduced in public schools and there is an implementation of Multiple Pathways and tracking of learner performance mainly through school based continuous assessment.

Minister Molao said the training of trainers on outcome-based education had started together with capacity building of school leadership.

Parliament was informed that the ministry was also working on the integration of ICT in teaching and learning to deliver learners who are ready for the 21st Century global demands.

The minister said senior schools were inundated with issues of learner indiscipline, adding however that they were provided with guidance and counselling to make them better citizens.

‘The ministry supports learners through such initiatives as boot camps and a deliberate effort has also been taken to help stabilise some schools whose performance was declining due to multi-faceted challenges,’ he said.

Minister Molao called for all stakeholders to play a role in education, and called upon MPs to mobilise their constituents and assist schools to produce the desired outcomes.

“I have no doubt that if we pull together as a nation, we will achieve more and position Botswana as a knowledge-based economy,” he said. ENDS