Following the dismal 2012 Junior Certificate Examinations (JCE) results, President Ian Khama assigned a cabinet sub-committee headed by Minerals, Energy and Water Resources Minister, Kitso Mokaila to find out how the country’s education sector can be improved and what exactly the problem was at the Ministry of Education and Skills Development. Sometime in early March MoESD called a press conference where Mokaila and his team were to share with the media their findings. The press conference was then postponed indefinitely as Mokaila was said to be out of the country, but to date nothing has come out.
In an interview with The Gazette, Mokaila said the report has long been ready and implementation of recommendations has started. He could not however share the findings saying they will call a press briefing.
Botswana Sector of Educators Trade Union (BOSETU) Secretary General Tobokani Rari told The Gazette in an interview that they just heard about the task team and did not know who appointed it and how. He expressed surprise at being told that the report was ready while they never came across the committee as key stakeholders in the Education sector. “There is no way the report could be complete without input from trade unions which represent teachers who play a vital role in producing results,” he said.
Secretary General of Botswana Teachers Union (BTU) Ibo Nana Kenosi told The Gazette that they have heard that the report is ready but no official correspondence was made with them. He also said they were never consulted for their input. Kenosi said it would be wrong if the report was to touch on teachers’ conditions of service and exclude input from the union. He said they will meet as BTU and find out why they were excluded before mapping a way forward which will also be informed by the outcome of the report.