25 Oct 2022

A total of 21 teachers from eight primary schools and one junior secondary school are currently undergoing an environmental conservation teacher training in Maun.

The programme is facilitated by Okavango Wilderness Safaris, through its subsidiary, Children in the Wilderness and First National Bank Botswana.

The participants of the programme, which started on Monday, are teachers from Sankoyo, Gunotsoga, Seronga, Gudigwa, Beetsha, Habu, Tubu, Seronga, Parakarungu and Tshwaragano.

Okavango Wilderness Safaris Stakeholder manager, Mr Moalosi Lebekwe said the programme was tailor-made to upskill teachers to be able to deliver environmental education concepts.

Mr Lebekwe said environmental education was not a fully-fledged subject in the school curriculum, but was featured in other subjects, which arrangement posed a challenge for both teachers and learners to tackle it.

He said it was imperative to teach children about the environment while they were still young so that they understood the importance of conserving it. 

“We need to sustain our natural resources by safeguarding our environment, hence we need to teach our children early so that as they grow they continue to be ambassadors of the environment,” Mr Lebekwe said.

He highlighted that the programme identified schools across Botswana then took teachers through environmental education training endorsed by the Children in the Wilderness partners.

FNBB Foundation manager, Ms Onkemetse Montsheki said the bank recognised the contributions and meaningful role made by the public as their customers, hence it formulated strategies to empower them.

Ms Montsheki stated that education was a focal point for them as they reached out to schools in remote areas to assist underprivileged pupils.

She highlighted that their aim was to contribute to the academic performance of learners, which was why they had donated solar powered lamps to Kajaja, Ngarange and Ikoga schools in the past.

She said they partnered with Children in the Wilderness upon realising how impactful the organisation was in teaching children to conserve the environment at a young age.

In his remarks, Maun Sub-region chief education officer, Mr Brown Sethapelo said the Children in the Wilderness programme had been running in the North West District for over 15 years, and had empowered teachers and pupils with environmental awareness.

He said it was necessary to incorporate environmental education in the school curriculum for children to be taught the importance of conserving the environment at a young age.

Mr Sethapelo pleaded with teachers to share the lessons learnt with other teachers in their respective schools. ENDS