20 Sep 2020

The Ministry of Basic Education has made adjustments to the school calendar in order to comply with COVID-19 protocols.

This was said by Minister of Basic Education, Mr Fidelis Molao when answering a question in Parliament  on Friday.

He said adjustments had been made to the examination timetables in order to accommodate the earlier closure of schools.

He said the revised dates for term two was from 2 June to 29 September 2020, but that due to the independence holidays and to avoid congestion on public transport, the ministry found it necessary to close schools on 25 September and to re-open on October 6 for  term three.

Minister Molao said term three would start from October 6 to 11 December.

He said the adjustment of the school programme  took into account completers examinations and the teaching calendar as far as possible.

Minister Molao also noted that some examinations had not  been localised and that their scheduling was set internationally. He said discussions were ongoing to determine how they would be handled. “The unpredictability of the virus means that it is not clear as of now whether all learners will be able to attend all lessons and write all examinations,” he said.

In case learners missed some lessons, Mr Molao said arrangements would be made to support such learners to make up for the lost time.

“Where some candidates do not write a paper for genuine reasons, special consideration or an alternation paper will be provided by the assessment authority as is the norm,” he said

Mr Molao said in order to accommodate the need for social distancing, the ministry has introduced shifting timetables in many schools and also employed about 3 000 additional temporary teachers to deliver the curriculum.

Moreover, the minister said there was the provision of self-study materials from Botswana Open University for completing classes at junior and senior secondary level.

He reassured Parliament and Batswana that he would continue to inform the nation as the situation developed using all platforms such as radio, print media and television.

The MP for Nata/Gweta, Mr Polson Majaga had asked the minister to brief Parliament on how the schools  were going to operate regarding their syllabus, and whether their calendars and examinations would be completed given the COVID-19 challenges.

The legislator further wanted the minister to state the adjustment dates and if they would  accommodate both lessons and examinations as scheduled, and if the ministry would employ additional teachers to complete the syllabus as planned.ENDS