School sport returns
“You will be pleased to note that quite a few of the recommendations made by the Task Team on School Sport in 2020 will be implemented in the new School Sport Programme, even during the pilot phase in 2022. We would then be expecting to operate at optimum levels from 2023, having benefitted from the experience of the pilot phase this year. We do believe that while we lost time and opportunities due to the absence of school sport as a result of Covid-19 and other factors, we should still be able to make up for some of that lost time in the future to the extent that Botswana will continue to unearth new talent and remain competitive on the world stage,“the Minister elaborated. According to the Permanent Secretary at MYSC, Kago Ramokate, the subject of teachers and other stakeholders involved in the running of School Sport has not been concluded yet. He added that engagements with the said bodies are ongoing and the findings and recommendations of the School Sport task team will enable them to finalize agreements in the near future. “The reason why school sport was scheduled to start on the second term and not the first term, was to allow the discussions to take place with relevant stakeholders. We have not concluded those discussions, other than with the Ministry of Basic Education itself. The other stakeholders, including teachers, the discussions will follow; we are hopeful that by the time we get to second term those discussions will be concluded. The School Sport Task team report will guide us because we already know the interest and opinions of those that we are engaging with and everything will be taken into account,” Ramokate revealed. Botswana Integrated Sports Associations (BISA) President Joshua Gaotlhobogwe confirmed that engagements are ongoing with the government through Botswana National Sports Commission (BNSC), and added that school sport return will be a welcome development. “We have been engaged by the Ministry through BNSC and consultative meetings are ongoing, we just came off another meeting this past weekend. Nothing is done yet we are still sharing ideas and advice on how best we can find a good solution and talks will continue,” Gaotlhogwe shared.