Sadly, there will be very little to celebrate. Contrary to the lavish promises that the stadia will be available for use and that they would be completed before the season starts that will not happen. This calls into question the planning and the strategic thinking at the Botswana National Sports Council and the responsible government departments. At the BFA annual conference, clubs lamented the reduced gate-takings due to the unavailability of stadiums such as the National Stadium, Lobatse and others. As a consequence of this shortage, football fans are forced to travel long distances to attend games. Cash-strapped teams too are forced to travel long distances to honour games. This is an urgent matter that needed ministerial intervention to ensure that interest in the game is not damaged. No effort should be spared to ensure that the Lobatse, the National Stadium and the Francistown facility are completed within the set timetable. Without compromising on quality, stricter supervision should be put in place to ensure that contractors meet deadlines. We understand that the upcoming CAF game between the Zebras and Togo might be taken to a smaller venue than the National Stadium. This will rob the BFA of the much-needed gate-takings, the cheering and moral support that the team needs from its many supporters. We urge authorities to ensure that this all-important game is played at the National Stadium.
Congratulations to graduate teachers
Last week, the Ministry of Education hosted a combined graduation for its completing students in the various colleges. The graduants were teachers, all of whom graduated with teaching diplomas. A total of 1,481 would be teachers graduated. Amongst these numbers were about 800 teachers who were serving primary school teachers who had upgraded their Primary School Teaching Certificates to teaching diplomas through distance learning on school vacation programmes. This is a commendable bridging programme that will empower primary school teachers to be at par with their secondary school counterparts. What is gratifying is that some of these teachers had gained their qualifications a long time ago and needed to be sharpened. We understand that the ministry has a desire to bring all its teachers to a minimum of a diploma qualification. At the rate at which this programme is going, we believe this is an achievable target and it could mean that our education at the foundation will improve tremendously. Amongst those who graduated were technical teachers who will be teaching at the various technical schools in the country. This too will go a long way in improving the quality of education. Often instructors were people with the technical skills, but most were not skilled at how to impart the technical skills to learners.
