27 Sep 2020

Ministry of Basic Education permanent secretary, Ms Bridget John has applauded primary schools in the Chobe region for improving their Primary School Leaving Examinations (PSLE) results with each year.

Addressing school heads and their deputies on September 24y, Ms John said it was commendable for schools to excel despite being faced with challenges.

Ms John urged the two secondary schools in the region to strive to reach the set 50 per cent target.

She said while the ministry was working to address challenges in the education system, the school leadership should also show intention to overcome the same.

She said with the level of violence in public schools, it was comforting that Chobe was one of the regions without any incidents.

On COVID-19, Ms John implored her audience to ensure compliance to protocols at all times, and emphasised that they should not only be observed within schools. She encouraged parents to volunteer on a rotational basis to ensure the same was happening outside school while learners awaited screening.

Ms John said where there was inadequate space, management should not insist on having teachers at school all the time, but rather encourage those without classes to work from home in order to observe social distancing.

With examaminations approaching, Ms John said schools should make an effort to be free from COVID-19, and that where a learner missed an exam, management should act promptly to notify the Botswana Examination Council (BEC).

She said the ministry wanted to assess the state of readiness of pupils for the final examination following mock examinations.

She said remedial measures should be applied to assist learners where there was need.

Ms John also said schools should be a second home for leaners and appealed to school heads to ensure psycho-social support for learners, noting that some faced challenges they could not deal with at home.

She said discussions were ongoing regarding the annual BEC excellence awards because the event could not be conducted due to COVID-19.

She added that there was a possibility that the top three achievers might be celebrated in Gaborone and the rest at regional levels.

Ms John added that celebrating success was only proper.

Regarding teachers’ overtime, she said the ministry was concerned with delayed payments and urged school heads to ensure they engaged accounts officers prior to authorising overtime.

She said overtime payment delays occurred because of failure to ensure availability of funds.

Chobe regional operations director, Ms Lillian Matshameko had earlier indicated that the region was doing well in PSLE, and that it was third nationally with 77.3 per cent.

She promised to achieve the 80 per cent target.

She, however, said the junior certificate level achieved a base line of 31 per cent against the 50 per cent target.

She observed that secondary schools did not improve as they failed to implement the recommended interventions.

Ms Matshameko said some of the challenges faced by secondary schools were shortage of teachers’ accommodation. She noted that Liswaani had 40 permanent teachers, but only 15 houses and that Chobe had 70 permanent teachers and 40 houses.

Another challenge, she said, was overstays especially at Chobe secondary where some teachers had been there for 22years.

Noka Ya Botshelo English Medium school head, Ms Beauty Autlwetse said while schools were doing a lot towards compliance of COVID-19 protocols, there was laxity on the part of school buses. She observed that drivers did not encourage learners to always wear masks.

Satau deputy school head, Mr Mmoloki Moloi pleaded for guidance and counselling teachers in primary schools. He also called for teacher aides who would man classes while teachers attended to learners needing psycho-social support.

Principal education officer, Mr Edward Mohumanegi suggested refresher courses for teachers to stay relevant.

In response, Ms John said the issue of school buses was discussed and where possible, parents should address the challenge.

She said due to financial challenges, it was not possible to address them immediately. ENDS