Countries of the World/COUNTRYS.BIN/dp/0046/00462.txt

Text File | 1991-06-24 | 20KB | 398 lines

$Unique_ID{COW00462}
$Pretitle{404}
$Title{Botswana
Chapter 5.    Education, Health and Welfare}
$Subtitle{}
$Author{Cecilia Gautier}
$Affiliation{Embassy of Botswana, Washington DC}
$Subject{health
education
schools
botswana
new
secondary
francistown
government
years
development}
$Date{1988}
$Log{Elephants and Workers*0046201.scf
}
Country:     Botswana
Book:        Botswana Review of Commerce and Industry 1988
Author:      Cecilia Gautier
Affiliation: Embassy of Botswana, Washington DC
Date:        1988

Chapter 5.    Education, Health and Welfare

[See Elephants and Workers: Courtesy Embassy of Botswana, Washington DC.]

A Change in EDUCATION Direction

     The government has committed itself to a basic nine years' education for
all children of school-going age and has set a target date for the early
1990s.

     There has been a phenomenal growth in educational facilities since
Independence. The 351 primary schools of 1966 are now 528 in number, with a
total of 231 397 pupils, while the nine secondary schools have grown to 68,
with a total of 39 484 pupils. In the recent escalation in the school building
programme, 29 of these schools were built in the last three years.

     After Independence, the Ministry of Education concentrated on the primary
school programme, on the premise that primary education is the basis for all
further learning. By 1977, the goal towards universal primary education was
well advanced and the government asked an international team of educators for
guidance concerning future educational directions. The subsequent report,
'Education for Kagisano', has been the basis for education since that date and
most of its 156 recommendations have been accepted by government.

     Over the years there has been a greater emphasis on non-formal education
and two main programmes were initiated, the Secondary Level Correspondence
Course and the National Literacy Programme. The former now has 2 000 pupils
and the latter was integrated with the newly formed Ditiro tsa Ditlhabololo in
1985, when 35 000 participants were enrolled.

     Formal adult education is catered for at non-vocational, artisan,
technical and university levels.

THE SITUATION TODAY

     `Education for Kagisano' provided the direction for the new
recommendations which are streamlining the school educational system. The
seven years in primary school, two years in junior secondary and three in
senior secondary have been changed to six, three and three and a completely
new curriculum has been devised for primary schools.

     There are no current figures regarding the exact number of children
attending primary schools, but it is thought to be approximately 85 per cent,
and that most of them complete the course.

     A greater use of radio teaching is planned for children in small
communities in remote areas, together with the general use of mobile schools
specialising in basic literacy and mathematics.

     It was also decided during 1986 that all children should be tested midway
through Standard 4 to discover any major educational problems and to give any
pupils who had fallen behind a chance to repeat part of the curriculum.

     With regard to non-formal education, centres will be built in each
district. Ditiro tsa Ditlhabololo has been upgraded to teach a range of
subjects in addition to literacy, including basic arithmetic and home
economics. This organisation will now be the bridge between the various
agencies in extension education. Each group will be supervised by an
`educator', who will also be responsible for the regular delivery of a range
of new reading material.

     Basic courses for teachers are being planned, in addition to the 1 200
students currently studying at Botswana's teacher training colleges.

A NEW PARTNERSHIP

     From 1986, the government and the community have been jointly responsible
for three years of education at junior secondary level.

     Many secondary schools have sprung up over the years, built and run by
local communities because pupils have been unable to find places in the
government schools. In 1986, all the government secondary schools were
designated as senior secondary schools and the community schools were used for
junior secondary education, though any new schools of this level will be built
by the government.

     These will be governed and maintained by a local Board of Governors and
the staff will be appointed by the Ministry's Unified Teaching Service.
Students will pay fees at the same level as government schools and a subsidy
of P40 will be paid to the school for each pupil.

     A new syllabus has been established, a continuation of the primary cycle.
Teachers will be trained at the Molepolole College of Education instead of at
the University, so as to obtain a wider, more practical background to their
studies.

     By the early 1990s all junior secondary schools will be community junior
secondary schools (known as CJSS).

TIRELO SETSHABA

     A national study scheme has been initiated inaugurated whereby pupils who
leave senior secondary schools can spend a year in community service before
they begin further studies. At the moment this is an optional service, but it
is to be expanded until it becomes a basic requirement for all school-leavers.

     The scheme has been so that not only will the non-formal educational
institutions be given much-needed assistance, but also the educated and
professional classes of the future will have firsthand experience of the
realities of life in the rural areas.

     A Tirelo Setshaba worker will teach in a primary school and be involved
in at least two other educational extension programmes, such as a health or
community development project.

     A volunteer, or `worker' as they will be known, will receive monthly
living expenses as well as an end-of-service allowance and, until the scheme
is made compulsory, participants will be awarded priority over others with
equivalent academic qualifications when they apply for further education or
employment.

MOBILE MUSEUM SERVICE

     The Department of Education in Botswana has a unique Mobile Museum
Service for its schools, which travels within a radius of 1 500 km from
Gaborone.

     In 1976, UNICEF gave money to the Ministry of Education for curriculum
development. The Ministry asked the Museum's advice on special educational
projects and from this sprang the Mobile Museum Service. UNICEF provided the
truck and equipment, including both a cine and slide projector, and the
Museum prepared a series of lectures and teaching aids which included museum
exhibits.

     Most of these programmes are connected with the history and vanishing
culture of the country. Botswana is surprisingly rich in archaeological
remains for a country with 84 per cent of its surface covered by the sand of
the Kalahari: There are Stone Age tools, hundreds of Iron Age sites dating
from the fourth century, as well as caves and shelters with pots from the
fifteenth century. There are also other historical sites, including those of
colonial days. This information, with photographs and exhibits, is usually
included in the Mobile Museum's curriculum, supplemented by an upper primary
and lower secondary school archaeology book, which was specially written, and
a secondary school history book.

NEW VOCATIONAL CENTRES

     Four new Vocational Centres have recently been completed at Jwaneng,
Palapye, Maun and Selebi-Phikwe. This P117 million project was funded jointly
by the Government of Botswana and from loans from the World Bank, the African
Development Fund and the African Development Bank. According to NDP6, these
centres will teach all artisan skills to school-leavers with a Junior
Certificate qualification and also undertake in-service training for workers
who are already in full-time employment.

     Courses at the Vocational Training Centres are being developed in
conjunction with the new Apprenticeship and Industrial Training Legislation,
which is administered by