Gaborone Phase 4 gets new school
● Development forms part of ERTF plan to improve infrastructure in education sector
The Ministry of Basic Education (MoBE) has commissioned the construction of a new primary school in Phase 4, Gaborone (Marulamantsi constituency).
Officiating during the event, Assistant Minister of Local Government and Rural Development, Setlhabelo Modukanele said that the long overdue project is part of the current Economic Recovery and Transformation Plan (ERTP).
“Government had set aside P160 million for the construction of two additional primary schools in Gaborone to meet the growing demand in the city. The construction will include classrooms and teachers’ quarters,” he said.
Modukanele explained that the construction of the new school was considered following realisation that there is an influx of learners in the Gaborone constituency but not enough schools. Some of the schools have been forced to take a high number of learners per classroom.
Like the rest of Botswana, Gaborone has been faced with an overwhelming challenge of shortage of classrooms that has caused overpopulated classrooms. Some learners have even had to be taught outside under trees.
The need to bolster infrastructure has been high on the agenda for MoBE in the past few years. Majority of the problems faced by Botswana’s education system has been outlined in previous whitepapers commissioned by government such as the 1994 Revised National Policy on Education of 1994, and the Education and Training Sector Strategic Plan of 2015-2020.
In fact, the Public Expenditure Review (PER) assessment on Basic Education carried out by the World Bank and released last year, has outlined a litany of recurring challenges that are currently bedevilling Botswana’s education sector, which include the need to meet the growing demand for the acute shortage of infrastructure in the education sector across the country.
The World Bank PER assessment report indicated that Botswana would need at least about P3 billion to address this and also complement the infrastructure demand with the supply of teaching personnel.
The PER assessment, which was commissioned by the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development and MoBE was carried out by World Bank in partnership with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) with the objective of reviewing public education spending, and evaluating all the stakeholders’ contribution to providing quality education that meets the needs of the society and the labour market.
The PER assessment also looked into the adequacy and sustainability of public spending in the education system, the efficiency and effectiveness of public resources, as well as the equity of education expenditures.