BTU’s Tertiary, Secondary, Gend Rights Sectors Hold Conferences And Human rd July 2021)
The Botswana Teachers Union (BTU) recently held its conferences for its Tertiary, Secondary, Gender and Human Rights Sectors in Palapye. The conferences came just a week after the union successful staged a conference for its primary sector.
The conferences were held under strict protocols, mandatory COVID-19 tests for all the participants. The (sector) conferences are held annually and are used to deliberate on the challenges faced by each respective sector. Sector also come up with strategies or initiatives that can help improve their efficiency or operations. The sectors also make recommendations to the National Executive Committee (NEC) in terms of how the overall operations can be run as a whole.
The tertiary and gender conferences were held at majestic five while the secondary sector was held at Botsalo hotel.
The conferences were also held under various themes, the theme for the tertiary sector was ‘Tertiary Education Sector Transformation: A Key Requirement for current and post COVID-19 Era. The secondary conference was themed, ‘You may pay your teachers BUT ultimately they may succumb to COVID-19 if they continue being IGNORED during this pandemic.’
The gender and Human Right Conference were themed:’ Igniting the gender and human rights course in the midst of a crisis: The quest for human dignity.’
The conferences attracted various speakers. Among the speakers where Logical DSD Consultants (Pty) Ltd Barulganye Mogotsi urged the government to move swiftly and address the plight of teachers with reference to COVID-19. He said that it is increasingly becoming clear that teachers have been adversely affected by COVID-19. He urged the government to heed calls to prioritize giving COVID-19 vaccines to teachers.
Among others he said that government should prioritise resourcing schools with sanitizers, water, soap, and cleaning chemicals in a bid to protect teachers against COVID-19. He also noted that BTU should strongly advocate for the introduction of a temporary COVID-19 risk allowance for teachers.
Mogotsi added that trade unions should be at the centre of the monitoring of adherence to adherence to COVID-19 protocols to ensure that there are no lapses
Challenges narrated at the tertiary sector conference were also COVID-19 related. The report was presented president by Vice President (Tertiary) Comrade Maureen Seotlwe.
The overall non-compliance to COVID-19 protocols is among the challenges that were raised in the tertiary sector report. When articulating the report Seotlwe noted that there is no regular cleaning of classrooms and offic management offices are
“There is also no fumiga even when students an have tested positive to C
The report further n poor adherence to prot under life-threatening lectures are still exp curricular through the tra of physical contact with
“The call for the int now famous e-learning provision for access to i the distribution of other be over- emphasised d situation and for the fut
The union’s secret and human rights Ra highlighted that the uni to counter growing ca in schools, working ha the police and go
welfare officers. She explained that defilement cases perpetuated by both teachers and members of the community to learners remain a huge concern in the country.
Ratanang also said that the union through the gender and human rights sector has established an office to help teachers deal with psycho-social problems. She stated that the office was set up in Mogoditshane, following the realization that a sizeable figure of teachers are faced with psycho social problems.
The gender secretary went on to explain that teachers facing psycho- social problems have been assisted through face-to-face counselling or over the phone (counselling).
“We are also in the process of engaging a full-time gender officer to enhance the operations of the gender and human rights sector,” she said.
The BTU President Gotlamang Oitsile and secretary general Agang Gabana and featured in various activities at the three conferences.