Education must justify why it deserves lion’s share of Budget

That education is the most powerful investment in our future is indisputable. According to research, education can make a lasting difference in people’s lives and it is not just good for individuals but also for nations.

Investing in education, therefore, as noted by Eric Debétaz - a Consultant at EHL Advisory Services - is not just the right move but it is also smart economies.

He says education leads the path towards health, empowerment, and employment. Evidence shows that each additional year of education boosts a person’s income by 10 percent and increases a country’s GDP by 18 percent.

In Botswana, it seems our education system is regressing, as evidenced by the poor performance of our completing students every single year.

This week the Botswana Examination Council ( BEC) released and like the past years the results are not good.

Each year the results are released, they seem to be worse than the previous ones or if there is an Our education system is in a very bad state. And it has been in such a state for many years now.

Our students perform badly at primary, junior and higher According to BEC’s Corporate Communications Manager Fingile Makgalemele, only seven ( 7) students obtained merit compared to fourteen ( 14) in 2021.

Four hundred and eighty- eight ( 488) managed Grade A compared to the 543 candidates in 2021, while 4 152 students got Grade B compared to the 4 176 in 2021. There was a slight improvement on those who got Grade C at 10 681 compared to 10 322 in 2021.

Over 28 000 students got Grade D and below. The failure by students is hurting the economy as more dropouts lead to an increase in social safety net spending and poverty.

There can be no development, dignity, and democracy if the current government fails to deliver quality education.

The Ministry of Education always receives the lion’s share of why the ministry is failing to yield good results in terms of students’ performance. Something needs to be done.

The education system in Botswana is mired by a number of challenges. Teachers continue to face a number of challenges which include the high student - teacher ratio.

For many years unions have bemoaned the high teacher – student ratio in class asking government to come up with solutions to it.

Government should employ more teachers and stop listening to and World Bank about reducing government workforce.

Other challenges that teachers face according to the unions include; absence of progression at primary schools; lumping of senior teachers with responsibilities together with those without responsibilities on one scale at primary schools; and lack of progression at brigades and technical colleges.

We hope government will address some of these challenges and create a conducive environment for our educators.