55TH INDEPENDENCE DAY MESSAGE TO TEACHERS

T his year on the 30th of September, our country will be celebrating 55 years of continued peace and stability. This year will be the second year running of celebrating our Independence Day under the new normal due to the Covid-19 situation. However, it is important draw to positives from where we come from as a people.

Independence Day accords the citizenry an opportunity to reflect on a number of things the country has provided which are basic necessities to assist in improving lives. Citizens have expectations from the Government of the day, such as provision of quality education, good health, portable water, favourable environment for jobs creation and infrastructure development among others.

Over the years, the Government provided the above mentioned necessities though not enough for the desired outputs.

For the education sector, teachers have performed exceptionally well with the limited resources provided and unfavourable working condition to impart knowledge to the citizenry over the years.

Our efforts as the Union has been channeled to advocate for better working conditions for teachers to effectively perform their duties; which is provision of smooth and quality teaching and learning. One of the issues we are battled with is the student teacher ratio, which has been high over the years as some teachers found themselves teaching more than 40 learners. It is only during the Covid-19 epoch that the ratio nearly conformed to the Revised National Policy on Education of 1994 recommendation, which advocated for class size not to exceed 25. Classes are now at 30 students.

Furthermore, we are still pursuing issues regarding the Senior Teacher with responsibility at Primary School, Principal Education Officer (PEO) II as well as Deputy School Heads at some group 3 schools who are still teaching. For the Senior Teacher with responsibility and PEO II issues, we have resorted to engage in consultation with the Government bearing in mind that we have lost these cases at the Courts. We had taken these matters to court as we believed that the Level of Operations (LOO) disadvantaged them at implementation stage.

As we celebrate this day, it is befitting to extend our appreciation to the teaching fraternity for the continued sterling performance and commitment they showed under the difficult circumstances posed by Covid-19 pandemic. Though anxiety had engulfed due to the uncertainty of the next day about their existence, teachers as always, negotiated their way in ensuring that ‘ngwana wa Motswana o bona thuto e e mo lebanyeng.’ That is why they should proudly celebrate this magnificent achievement.

We also wish to commend the Ministries responsible for Education across all levels for working with the Union to ensure the safety of teachers during the pandemic. We are also grateful that almost 100 percent of teachers have received their Jabs (Covid-19 vaccine) which will boost their immune system to deal with the virus. We plead with the Government to consider, once the prioritised groups have been inoculated, to extend the same to school going children to further minimize the spread of Covid-19 in the school environments.

We would have failed our duties as a trade Union organising in the education sector, if we were not to remind completing students to utilize the remaining time wisely. We encourage them to commit to their books and prepare for the coming national examinations. They should be alive to the fact that Covid-19 has affected the teaching and learning environment, thus amendments on the school calendar were made to cater for the lost time caused by isolations and quarantine.

Lastly, the Union urges members, teachers and general public to continue adhering to Covid-19 protocols at all times to STAY SAFE, as we are not yet out of the woods.

We wish His Excellency Dr M.E.K Masisi, our members, all teachers and Batswana a peaceful, joyous and accidents free 55th Independence Day.

GOD BLESS THE PEOPLE OF BOTSWANA

Comrade Gotlamang Oitsile

PRESIDENT