Union dismisses Kelebeng on School Sport
Calistus Kolantsho | Monday June 16, 2025 10:52
BOSETU secretary-general, Tobokani Rari told MmegiSport that the pronouncement by the minister was strange because school sport negotiations have not started. He said the announcement is pre-emptive. “We are ready for an honest engagement in which both parties are ready to compromise and give some ground, although we are quite worried by pre-emptive remarks to the process. However, we are not going to change any attitude or approach to the engagements if they are there. We will remain candid and amenable to an open dialogue with a view to meet them halfway,” Rari said.
Efforts to get a comment from Kelebeng were not possible as his private secretary, Lebogang Gaboitaolelwe, said the minister was still engaged as he is on a trip in Hungary. According to information reaching this publication, unions have submitted a proposal to the minister and they had expected him to respond to the submission, but he is yet to do so. The proposal had options that the government could consider when implementing school sport, including the plan that teachers who coach should be paid overtime like other civil servants. Another suggestion is that teachers should be paid for 26 days with a monthly allowance of P2, 500 for every teacher who takes part in sport. School sport came to a halt in 2020 after a clash with teachers over unpaid allowances amounting to P32 million. The suspension was caused by a mismatch between the ministry’s budget for sports and the actual cost of running the sport programmes.
The ministry had been struggling to pay participation fees and was forced to transfer funds from other allocations, such as training and feeding to cover the costs. The main reason for the suspension was a significant budget shortfall. The annual cost of school sports was estimated at around P60 million, whilst the ministry’s sports budget was only P2 million.