05 May 2021

 Botswana Teachers Union (BTU) gender and human rights committee has decried non-compliance to COVID-19 protocols in some schools.

Presenting a report on how COVID-19 had affected education, a member of the committee, Ms Keatlaretse Jappie said some schools were not compliant.

The committee met in Maun to readjust its plans amid COVID-19. It also shared reports, achievements, challenges and mapped the way forward.

Ms Jappie said coronavirus still remained a challenge in schools as evidenced by the high number of cases and deaths. 

She said it was worrisome that the virus had penetrated schools and that it posed a high risk to both learners and teachers.

She said during their  inspection on compliance they observed that some schools made efforts to comply, but that there was a challenge during feeding hours as learners failed to maintain social distancing. 

“Learners became excited during feeding hours and crowded the place thus exposing them to the virus,” she said.

Non-compliance, she said, needed serious attention as they were losing members across all regions. 

She said although teachers were regarded as frontline workers, they were not fully equipped with personal protective equipment as other frontline workers.

She called for teachers to be afforded equal treatment as their counterparts, saying they were equally exposed and that some schools had been turned into isolation and quarantine centres. 

Ms Jappie noted that teachers were expected to assist learners in isolation centres, but that they were only provided with surgical masks while nurses were fully equipped.

Presenting a report on gender based violence (GBV), vice president of gender and human rights, Ms Ratanang Baleseng said since COVID-19 was declared a pandemic, Botswana experienced more cases of GBV.

She said some union members were also involved as victims while some were perpetrators. 

She also added that they had recorded cases of rape, physical, sexual and verbal abuse.

To combat the issue, she stated that her committee collaborated with other stakeholders such as Gender Based Violence Prevention and Support Centre, Men Gender Equality, Women Against Rape and law enforcement agencies.

She said some members were provided with psychological support and counselling while others were taken to safe shelters and teachers transferred to other schools for safety.

Ms Baleseng also commended efforts by government to establish gender violence courts to ensure cases were addressed timeously. 

She said the committee welcomed the Sexual Offenders Bill and that they had made submissions to the bill. 

She also said they made a proposal to the relevant ministry requesting for ratification of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) convention. 

She said they wanted government to commit herself and that they had proposed the setting up of some departments in police stations which would focus on gender based violence.

GBV, she said, was a crisis which needed urgent attention. She added that the units should be mannered by trained officers. 

Ms Baleseng said they believed such units could improve efficiency in the process of assisting victims. ends