Classroom shortages worsen as student admissions soar
Pini Bothoko | Monday March 10, 2025 14:54
The situation has forced some schools to accommodate as many as 50 students per class especially in secondary schools. Minister of Child Welfare and Basic Education, Nono Kgafela-Mokoka, revealed the state of affairs earlier this week when answering a question before Parliament. Maun West Member of Parliament (MP), Caterpillar Hikuama, had asked the ministry’s position regarding the establishment register in public schools. He had also wanted to know if the ministry was ready to redefine and give direction on class size in public schools and student/teacher ratio in both primary and secondary schools. Responding to his questions, the minister stated that according to the Revised National Policy on Education (RNPE), the recommended class size is 30 learners per class but, it should be noted that currently it is not possible to apply this recommendation because of very limited academic space in public schools. “It is a policy that ‘all children have the right to education’. This dictates that my ministry finds itself in a difficult position of having to increase class size to 35-40 students especially at primary school and up to 50 learners at secondary school. I believe that the reviewing of the establishment register and building of new schools will address the issue,” she said.
Kgafela-Mokoka also said in schools that have serious shortages of infrastructure they have introduced double shift but even with double shift it is proving difficult to maintain the class size of 30. In the past, teachers and parents had raised concerns over the impact of overcrowding on learning quality, citing reduced teacher-student interaction, increased workload for teachers and difficult in maintaining discipline. Parents continue to express frustration, fearing that their children’s education is being compromised pleading for urgent intervention. They raised a concern that in some cases, students have to literally sit on the floor during lessons due to shortage of desks and chairs. As the government grapples with the crisis, there have been alternatives such as introducing shift systems, students being taught outdoors under trees which compromise learners’ quality of education. The education ministry remains under pressure to strike a balance between accessibility and quality education for all.
However, shortage of classrooms is not the only problem that the ministry is faced with. For years, the country’s education system has been faced with a litany of challenges inside and outside the classroom something that the government has been struggling to resolve. Most schools are dilapidated and faced with shortage of teachers, books and furniture for both teachers and learners. Teachers are haunted by a shortage of accommodation, something that has forced them to share accommodation. This has over the years challenged the government to dig deeper into its overstretched financial resources to attend to the crisis as it is believed to be behind the poor examination results especially at junior and senior secondary schools. Teachers unions have over the years challenged the government to demonstrate a strong commitment towards investing in education and ensuring that schools are equipped with the necessary resources to provide a conducive learning environment for students. Unions emphasised that shortage of books, poor infrastructure, inadequate furniture, shortage of food to mention but a few have persisted for years. They argued that there is an urgent need to quickly restore public confidence in the education system. Apparently, as long as the prevailing situation in public schools is allowed to continue unabated, the nation's dream of achieving knowledge-based economy and a high income economy will remain just a dream because there is no way teachers could work a miracle of producing good academic results in an environment in which they themselves are frustrated.
Last week, Botswana General Certificate of Secondary Education (BGCSE) released 2024 results and only 6 521 candidates met the 36 cut off points from the 36,917 candidates who sat for the BGCSE examinations in 2024. Botswana Examinations Council (BEC) had stated that from the 36,917 candidates who sat for the BGCSE examinations in 2024, only 31.35% of the candidates got grade C or better both from private and government schools. “The results indicate that amongst the grades awarded this year, 31.35% were graded grade C or better compared to 32.3% in 2023 which shows a decrease of 0.95%,” read the recent BEC media release.