Botswana Teachers Union
t is yet another year for us as a nation to look back, introspect and chinwag on the passageway we wish the country should take as we celebrate Botswana’s 54th Anniversary of independence. Botswana has been enjoying the fruits of her independence from the United Kingdom and traversed the path in ensuring that it creates a platform for socio-economic growth, where amenities are available for the citizens.
For a country which was built out of nothing through the help of its citizens, the historical example being the ‘motho le motho kgomo’ initiative which saw to the building of what is today regarded as one of the best Universities in the world, the University of Botswana (UB). This is a clear testimony of the resilience Batswana had in building a nation that will ultimately be counted amongst the best globally post-independence.
It is at this juncture that every Motswana should pause, look back and celebrate what the country has achieved thus far with the little resources at its disposal. Most importantly, give thanks to the Almighty for the natural resources our country is blessed with. The same natural resources that contributed to the beautiful infrastructure, education, health system, clean water, peace and political stability amongst others.
The whole transformational progress could not have been smooth sailing and complete without one of the critical human resources, a Teacher. As the Botswana Teachers Union (BTU) we are grateful to have played a meaningful role in ensuring that the education sector of this great Republic is at the level required to produce wellrounded citizens, who are today champions of different sectors of the economy.
However, we should use this independence remembrance to deeply think of avenues to tackle the many challenges our country is faced with. Challenges which need our collective approach as a people regardless of individual stature in the society are; lack of employment opportunities, poor education system and poor health care. These challenges have been worsened by the advent of Covid-19 pandemic which compelled for channeling of funds allocated for development and improvement of services to fighting the virus.
Furthermore, we need to ponder on where we went wrong as a nation to be besieged by social ills such as Gender Based Violence and School Violence. There has been an upsurge of violence in schools where students attack each other and or teachers, causing grievous bodily harm in the process. This is a moral degeneration that defeats the spirit of Botho that Batswana are known for. We call upon parents and guardians to retrace their steps and try once more to let the community raise the child.
We would have failed our duties as a Trade Union organising in the education sector, if we were not to urge completing students to use this rest period to prepare for the coming national examinations. They are alive to the fact that Covid-19 has affected the teaching and learning environment, thereby effecting amendments on the school calendar.
We also thank the Ministry of Basic Education (MoBE) for having released teachers and students a few days before the scheduled schools closure for the Independence Holidays in an effort to reduce congestion in public transport thereby minimizing chances of Covid-19 spread. This is commendable more so because teachers have been released without having to apply for leave.