EXAM DATES MOVED!

Parents use technology to help children with revision

Botswana Examination Council (BEC) has rescheduled dates for PSLE, JCE, and BGCSE examinations. BEC had recently confirmed that examination dates would be held two weeks later to allow for time to catch up with the syllabus and revise.

The decision was informed by time lost due to schools’ closures amidst the continued Covid-19 pandemic. Expounding on this decision in Parliament on Friday, Assistant Minister of MoBE Nnaniki Makwinja said it had been influenced by an assessment of syllabus coverage, which was conducted between July 14, and 24, 2021, that covered all 10 regions across Botswana.

“The assessment sampled 55 pre-primary classes, 65 primary schools, 48 junior secondary schools, and 14 senior secondary schools, and it was established that learners have lost a total of 14 learning days for coverage due to the early closure of schools. “It was also established that most teachers are behind schedule with the syllabus by at least two weeks”, Makwinja said. The minister noted that the Botswana Education Act requires that schools should be open for a minimum of 180 days and a maximum of 200 days but due to the Covid-19 related school closures, learners have lost a collective 18 calendar days of learning. The PSLE examinations which were scheduled to start on October 5 will now run from October 20 to 27, 2021. The JCE finals previously scheduled to start on October 18 will be from November 1 to 19, while BGCSE examinations which were previously set for October 4, have been moved to October 18 up till November 26. The deadline for submission for the JCE practical is now September 6 to October 11.

The scheduled dates for Additional Maths, French, and Statistics will remain unchanged because they are set by external institutions. Parents have been forced to prioritise their children’s learning during the schools’ closures. A parent of a child sitting for Form 3 exams Lerato Okokame said she had been helping her child keep updated on schoolwork. “I enrolled him for online tutoring lessons, and he was also assisted by a cousin of his who is in tertiary. We are worried if he will perform well but we are hopeful. Technology has been beneficial as the learners have Whatsapp groups with teachers who post additional material and assist with revision.”

Maatla Kganetso, whose child is sitting for Standard 7 exams, said the learners had been given assignments and there was constant communication with the teacher through Whatsapp.

“We have been helping her with revision and trying to keep up the momentum. Schools’ closures have a negative impact on children, not only because of the loss of study time but also emotionally and mentally. “But as parents, we have to be strong and supportive.

Technology has been beneficial because it allows us to connect with the teachers and makes it easier for children to learn while at home.” A post-primary education initiative research on limiting learning loss using phone-based programming during Covid-19 in Botswana compiled by Moitshepi Matsheng, Noam Angrist, Caton Brewster, and Peter Bergman, indicates that technology made a difference in improving learners’ studies. It indicates that there were effects on learning gaps, it improved parental engagement and it was cost-effective and scalable.

They also reiterated that the Covid-19 pandemic had created a window for school reform, and assimilating technology in the learning process was helpful.