Acute shortage of books, furniture in Botswana schools
Boikanyo Mathonsi | Wednesday January 24, 2024 11:52
This is the report card of Botswana Teachers Union (BTU) on the status of the landscape of the country's education.
The union's president, Gotlamang Otsile, has raised concerns about the dire situation, emphasizing that the issues have persisted for five years now and are now reaching crisis levels.
According to Otsile, the lack of learning materials, especially text books in schools, is a pressing issue that has not been addressed by government.
"Students have been deprived of essential learning materials for an extended period. Additionally, the shortage of furniture in schools has forced students to sit on the floor, making the learning environment uncomfortable and unsuitable for academic excellence," Otsile observes. Compounding this is the scarcity of food in schools, which has given rise to concerns about the well-being of students, says Otsile, who fears that the situation could lead to a high failure rate if it is not addressed promptly.
"The future prospects of students and the overall development of the country are at stake if the current challenges are not effectively addressed. The government must demonstrate a strong commitment to investing in education and ensuring that schools are equipped with the necessary resources to provide a conducive learning environment for students." Speaking to The Monitor, Oreeditse Nyadzo, the publicity secretary for BOSETU, attributed the current challenges to poor planning by the government. "With better planning, the issues facing schools could have been mitigated.
The government should have planned for the next academic year well in advance to avoid the current crisis," she said. Molatedi Motlatlawe, the head teacher at Mmualefhe Primary School, provided a firsthand account of the dire conditions in his school. "Teachers have been compelled to use their own funds to purchase essential academic resources due to the lack of support from the government," said Motlatlawe. Responding to the concerns, the minister of education and skills development, Douglas Letsholathebe, acknowledged the severity of the situation but said measures were being taken to address the issues. "We have instructed directors to conduct assessments across Botswana to evaluate the infrastructure and resource challenges in schools, the government is committed to resolving the issues promptly," said Letsholathebe.