TEACHERS CLUELESS Confusion reigns in schools as OBE is implemented
Teachers say the ground is not ready for the changes
The Ministry of Education is introducing a new Outcome Based Education (OBE) curriculum in senior secondary schools, with the curriculum being piloted nationally with the first cohort being the newly admitted Form 4 students this year.
However, it seems many teachers are clueless about OBE, they are not even sure if they will be able to deliver on the assignment at hand. They are already complaining that they have not been given enough training on the new syllabus, yet they are expected to teach.
They complain of shortage of resources in schools such as reliable internet that will support e-learning. The government has been hard at work buying laptops for teachers and students so that learning can start being done online.
“We really do not understand what OBE is and what will happen with it, but we have heard most of our members complain about it. We are yet to hear from the Ministry what it is all about and how everything will be rolled out,” said Botswana Sectors of Educators Trade Union (BOSETU) spokesperson Oreeditse Nyatso this past Tuesday.
Teachers who spoke to this publication voiced that the Ministry should be careful when implementing the syllabus by trying to avoid instances where they pilot a project without properly preparing for it at the expense of students.
“It is embarrassing to be having teachers who are asking each other what they will be doing in class. Has the government satisfied itself that there is enough resources in schools to kick start OBE? We cannot be gambling with Form 4 because they do not have much time on their hands, they have a crucial Botswana General Certificate of Secondary Education (BGCSE) examination to write in 2025.”
They say results are already poor and if the Ministry does not think the matter through before implementation, they anticipate worse results in 2026.
“The Ministry is seriously gambling with the lives of students, how can they be doing trials at senior level, what are we saying about thousands of children that get spit out of the education system year in and out, we should be doing something to help them not make things worse,” Nyatso said.
He adds that since government began giving students laptops not many of them are using them for educational purposes. Teachers have observed how some students are in the habit of going into pornography sites whenever they are in areas with internet connection, meaning that government must come up with strategies of how the use of laptops will benefit students.
When delivering the State-of-theNation Address in 2020, President Mokgweetsi Masisi mentioned that the approach was meant to enable pupils to pursue subjects of their interest and capability in order to improve the country’s educational system.
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In a statement to following an inquiry, the Ministry of education confirmed the introduction of outcome based education curriculum with a total of twenty one (21) OBE subjects introduced across all thirty–four (34) senior secondary schools.
Reads the Ministry’s statement: “In addition, four subjects introduced in 2021 at Moeng College and Maun SSS were rolled out to other schools. Resources permitting the remaining fifteen syllabi, shall be introduced in 2025, thus giving our senior secondary school curriculum a full bouquet of OBE syllabi, and it is only then that we can talk of implementing pathways.
Currently, OBE curricula is confined to senior secondary schools, but would descent to junior secondary and primary levels of our education. With respect to Junior Certificate (JC), the current curriculum evaluation has been completed, reports have been shared with all stakeholders, and subject frameworks have been developed and validated. Next, the Ministry is embarking on ‘syllabi development’ followed by their validation, preimplementation and implementation, hopefully in the turn of next year, resources allowing. With respect to Primary curriculum, the Ministry is at infancy stage; still grappling with the procurement (ITT) process, but would take shape during this Financial Year.
Outcome Based Education approach came as a recommendation to Botswana‘s education, following the situational analyses and SWOT analysis of the country’s education in preparations for coming up with Education and Training Sector Strategic Plan (2015-2020). A scan across our basic education revealed that Botswana’s curriculum was ‘overloaded and examination obsessed’; there was more of rote-learning, to pass examinations; with little to no competences developed. The system experienced low education outputs as it was theoretically inclined. Also, there was limited use of ICT as a platform of learning. The senior secondary education band was ‘inefficient’ as it offered limited pathways, hence curtailing, learners’ choice and preferences according to their individual abilities. Worst, there was a noticeable decline in quality and relevance of our system. As if that was not enough, there was an apparent mismatch of skills to industry needs leading unemployment. Notorious of our unemployment setup, we had a prevalence of a trio scenario of people without jobs; people with jobs, but no skills; and jobs without people.
Such a calamitous reality made us observers than participants in a global economy driven by a 4th industrial revolution. It also made us trapped in the vicious cycle of being primary resource producers and reliant /dependent as opposed to being dependant on the quaternary and the knowledge based economy.”
The Ministry clarified that under OBE, as opposed to the old Content Based Learning System, there should be active students as opposed to passive students; that the system should encourage critical thinking, reasoning, reflection and action among students. Unlike in the old system where teachers were seen as responsible for learning, learners will this time take responsibility for their own learning.
The Ministry adds: “Teacher readiness is at the core of this transformation. This is a process and cannot be achieved overnight. Despite this, our teachers are educated, trainable and receptive, hence the Ministry’s full conviction, that with capacity building, they are more than ready to offer the new curriculum. Given the ongoing interaction with
the leaners and the syllabi, teachers would be more than ready. The School Management have been resourced on School Leadership and Management (SLM) because the Ministry believes change is leader driven. Teachers alias facilitators have been trained on the outcome based education approach to pedagogy as well as Outcome– Based Assessment (OBA). In addition, our teachers have interacted with various syllabi through organised preimplementation workshops organised and run by Curriculum Development and Evaluation. During such trainings some gaps (especially on content) were identified and crush courses were organized, one in point being the one organized for Hospitality and Tourism Studies teachers (from 26th February to 08th March, 2024 in Maun.) Capacity building is a continuous process, to this extent. Regions are in the process of establishing Help Desk Teams to monitor and assist schools within their dominion. At school level, there are ‘project committees’ as well as a team of four trainers in each school to facilitate the on- going capacity building drives.
Providing leaners with laptops is part of aligning with the OBE curriculum. However, the laptops are augmenting and facilitating individualized learning inherent in OBE, rather than replacing the teacher/ facilitator and the text books. Those remain intact. As aforementioned the gadgets will enhance individualized learning, by fostering individualized research, knowledge generation and revision. Also, they would enable remote facilitation of learning by the facilitators.
To date 4,845 teacher and 52,161 student laptops have been delivered to senior secondary schools nationwide. These have been procured at a whooping P205, 486,744.67 cost, highlighting the significance the Ministry accords the initiative. The expectation is that all form 4 and form 5 learners will have laptops in 2024 in line with the OBE rollout. However, not all 2023 form 5 learners have thus far returned laptops loaned to them, resulting in a shortage that may affect some schools until such time that unreturned and damaged laptops are recovered, repaired and/or replaced.
This is worsened by the fact that learners take with them these gadgets home, to continue with the individualised learning, but some got lost or destroyed in the process. Ensuring that the gadgets are secure is a challenge to all stakeholders; learners and their parents are expected to ensure that the laptop is well cared for. A clarion call is also made to the community to exercise community policing and ensure these gadget ware safe. The laptops have tracking capabilities which allow recovery of devices where the loss is reported in time. If the school has made a determination that the device has been stolen or damaged due to negligence, the parent is expected to account in the form of reimbursing the Ministry. However, if the theft or damage is determined to be beyond the aforementioned, then the Ministry assist with cost recovery. This is a tall order, hence the shortages we are experiencing in schools.”