Islands of academic prosperity

Tshwarelo Hosia | Monday January 12, 2026 06:00

The town-rural divide is glaring. For example, the capital city of Gaborone and Selebi-Phikwe have become islands of academic prosperity surrounded by a sea of academic underachievement. Despite being an old and deep-seated issue, the issue of rural-town divide has not seen any known potent and sustained response aimed at bridging the gap. Less privileged students, bound to the villages by circumstances of poverty and other limiting factors, continue to face a bleak and uncertain future in their academic endeavours when compared with their counterparts in towns.

The pain stemming from disparities between schools in the same locality and between regions is felt sharply at the beginning of an academic year when parents have to select schools for their children. It must be stated that students are automatically guaranteed placements within their geographical areas. However, not all parents accept schools officially allocated to their children.

Some go the extra mile to try and divert their children away from schools they think would not serve and fulfil their children’s purpose and dreams. Attempts by authorities to balance numbers in schools, looking at resources does seem to be appealing to parents who desire to have their children in schools of their choice.

It is clearly not possible for parents to have their way due to resource constraints and the risk of overpopulating schools beyond capacity.

Parental ‘rejection’ of certain schools on account of their notorious distinction of academic underachievement is understandable, but it has far-reaching implications. First, it undermines progress in chronically low-achieving schools. The movement of students often assumes the character of moving the ‘cream’, high-flying students, away to academically better nurturing environments.

However, the mere fact that the movement of students from one school to another often takes the character of shifting the cream from less achieving to more prosperous schools undermines the very efforts of getting better, which chronically low-achieving students may try to pursue. Secondly, it also depopulates rural and less achieving schools while placing a strain on town and successful schools.

The stark and painful reality is that teaching in rural areas is not appealing for both young, energetic teachers and veteran teachers. Young unemployed teachers who are supposedly desperate for jobs dare to turn down job offers to serve in the remote villages. Rural schools do not only face a challenge of a shortage of critical physical infrastructure, but they also face a daunting challenge of attracting and retaining highly trained and specialist teachers. Staff high turnover continues to disrupt teaching and learning in the rural areas.

The problem of the urban-rural divide should no longer go unchallenged. Urgent efforts should be put in place to give this challenge special and sufficient attention. Teaching in the rural areas is a sacrifice and must be treated as a demonstration of patriotism and courage. Serving in the rural areas should therefore attract incentives.

A package of incentives one can think of includes student loan forgiveness (exemption from paying student loans), discounts and subsidies when purchasing houses and cars and priority when it comes to access to teacher professional development programmes.

These interventions would address issues of attraction and retention of staff while also incentivising teachers to bring their best selves to the classroom teaching theatre. Attracting and retaining teachers cannot be left solely in the hands of the government.

Forging links with the community in the quest to promote the well-being of teachers is paramount and should be upgraded to a community affair. It should be the responsibility of school principals and their charges to take their schools to the community. Schools should deliberately cultivate healthy win-win collaborative interactions with the community. Sharing their visions, experiences and challenges would attract sympathy and support to their cause.

Healthy relationships would have a ripple effect on the overall performance of schools. The morale of teachers would be raised. Teachers thrive and prosper when sufficiently valued and supported by the communities in which schools exist. When seen, voices heard, loved and cared for, teachers strive to serve meticulously.

The business community should not be left behind in this endeavour. Schools should leverage the existing professional relationships with business partners to promote a culture of giving back to schools.

There should be a win-win relationship promoting mutual survival and prosperity. All in all, bridging the urban-rural divide should be a top national priority aimed at raising academic achievement levels in the countryside while also reducing rural-urban migration.

The elephant in the room is addressing the issue of disparities in educational outcomes between schools and regions. All schools should reposition themselves to serve students well and increase opportunities for academic prosperity. Addressing issues of school governance and accountability is vital in the process of restoring academic excellence. Schools must be governed and governed well.