The government has delayed in paying teachers overtime and parallel progression dues. Speaking at the just-ended conference, BOFESETE president Baboloki Tlale criticised government’s indecision and procrastination over the payments. He said teachers have suffered injustice as a result of government’s handling of the matter. He echoed the general frustration voiced by delegates at the conference that the implementation of the parallel progression policy was too slow.
“It is obvious that since the court order, someone failed to apply their mind as to what has to be done to speedily implement the court order,” he said.
He added that the delay had severely eroded the earning that the teachers will eventually receive due to inflationary effects. The implication of such late payments is that all teachers affected by the 1994-96 aspect of the parallel progression will understate and devalue their pension fund calculation.
Tlale took issue with a trend in the Ministry of Education where senior posts are left vacant for a long time. Currently, about three senior posts have been vacant for over five months and are manned by acting staff without decision-making powers, he said. He was equally concerned about the quality of public education, describing it as the biggest battle facing the teaching fraternity in the country. He said public education is the most important social service that any country can invest in as a basis for social and economic development.
He cautioned the government on the proposed introduction of school fees next year. He said there is a real risk that the introduction of fees as a cost-sharing measure could have the effect of denying some children education. He was apprehensive that the policy may not work for the marginalised. He said government’s take-over of community schools was ill-advised and detrimental to productivity and quality. He said it was also contrary to the principles and ideals of community involvement, self reliance, private sector involvement, decentralisation and democratic governance as espoused in the Dakar Framework for Education for All which Botswana is a signatory to.
