21 Aug 2021

Botswana Examinations Council (BEC) has adjusted the national examinations timetables for Primary Leaving Examinations (PSLE), Junior Certificate Examinations (JCE) and Botswana General Certificate in Secondary Education (BGCSE).

Updating Parliament on the on the readiness and syllabus coverage by completing classes at different levels to prepare to sit for their examinations by end of 2021 academic year on Friday, Assistant Minister of Basic Education, Ms Nnaniki Makwinja said the decision to postpone dates was meant to provide for the time lost due to the impact of COVID-19.

Ms Makwinja said the PSLE which were scheduled to start on October 5 will now run from October 20-27 October 2021, to give primary schools about 34 days to fully prepare before the start of the first examination.

The JCE, which were scheduled to start on October 18 have been re-scheduled to run from November 1-19 to give the learners 43 days to the written examinations. The JCE practical examinations have been moved back by about four weeks, the earliest will now be on October 11 instead of September 6 and similarly the submission of coursework marks has been moved to October 8.

BGCSE examinations which were scheduled to start on October 4 have been re-scheduled to run from October 18 to November 26.

However, the assistant minister noted that the Ordinary Level examinations of Statistics, Additional Mathematics and French could not be re-scheduled because the dates were set externally.

“The earliest of these is a Statistics paper on October 6. The BGCSE practical examinations have been moved back by about two weeks and submission of coursework marks and moderation schedules have been moved back by about three weeks,” she said.

Ms Makwinja said the decision also followed a rapid assessment of syllabus coverage at basic education from July 14-24 that covered all 10 regions with special reference to completing classes of standard 7 Form 3 and Form 5.

“This assessment sampled 55 pre-primary classes, 65 primary schools, 48 Junior Secondary Schools and 14 Senior Secondary Schools. In all regions, at all levels, learners have lost a total of 14 learning days for syllabus coverage due to the early closure of schools and some teachers are behind by up to two weeks in their work,” she said.

She indicated that the academic year for this year’s cohort had been interrupted by the early closure of schools on July 16 towards the end of the second term and the delay in reopening of schools for completing classes in term three on August 24.

She further noted that the Education Act required schools to be open for a minimum of 180 days and a maximum of 200 days.

The 2021 academic year was planned to have 199 days, thus schools have lost a total of 18 calendar days.

“However, my ministry is adjusting the closing date from November 26 to December 10 as a way of compensating for lost time. My ministry expects, therefore, that schools will operate for a total of 191 days in 2021 barring any further disruptions,” she added.

Again, she said due to the loss of eight days, teachers would need to reschedule their contact time with learners to cover up for the lost time including through homework, and critical pedagogical focus.

“The third term is traditionally reserved for revision of content and completion of project work by candidates and since the examination calendar has been adjusted the candidates should have time to complete work and revise,” she said.

She further told Parliament that the ministry was alive to the issue and was making the necessary adjustments to examination schedules and adjustments of the school calendar for schools to close on December 10 for third term in order to help mitigate the impact of COVID-19 on learners.

Ngami MP, Mr Caterpillar Hikuama had wanted an update on the readiness and syllabus coverage by completing classes, syllabus materials coverage for completing classes so far per region, days left in the academic year (third term) before sittings for examinations.

He wanted to know how much time had been lost due to COVID-19 restrictions in terms of days for the 2021 academic year as well as the strategies in place for syllabus coverage for completing students.

He further wanted to know if the ministry did not consider reviewing and extending the 2021 academic year. ENDS