Evolution of formal education amongst Bakwena before independence
Titus Mbuya | Thursday March 5, 2026 11:49
According to the BEC Results Report, Kweneng region ranked seventh out of ten educational regions in the country for performance at Grade C or better. In 2023 and 2022, Kweneng secured sixth place consecutively, ahead of Kgalagadi, Chobe, North West, and Ghanzi.
This disappointing performance over the past three years continues a pattern that has persisted for more than 30 years. The region has been trailing behind at all levels, including Primary School Leaving Examinations and BGCSE. Kweneng region is vast, and many factors may be contributing to this situation, ranging from shortages of teachers and facilities to indiscipline and poor leadership. These problems are not confined to Kweneng—other regions also experience them, yet some have triumphed, as evidenced by their relatively better results despite the challenges.
The persistent underperformance of Kweneng schools is an affront on the vision of the forebears of Bakwena traditional leadership who were the first to embrace formal education in Botswana and nurtured it well before the colonial period.
As elsewhere in Botswana, formal education in Molepolole was pioneered by missionaries. When Dr David Livingstone and his wife Mary first arrived in present-day Botswana in 1846, they settled among the Bakwena at Kolobeng. Livingstone, a medical doctor and preacher of the London Missionary Society (LMS), now known as the United Congregation of Central and Southern Africa (UCCSA), built a structure that served both as a church and a school.
Each morning, Mary Livingstone taught Bakwena children, while on Sundays her husband preached the Gospel. Among those Livingstone converted to Christianity was Kgosi Sechele I, who would go on to convert many tribe members. Sechele himself learned to read and write, mastering all the letters of the alphabet within nine days, an achievement that astonished his friend Livingstone.
The Livingstones left Kolobeng in 1851, proceeding north to Central Africa where David Livingstone eventually died. The Bakwena themselves relocated several times: to Dithubaruba (also known as Dithejwane) in 1853, then to Ntsweng in 1864, and then Borakalalo in 1899, finally moving to Mososope (present day Molepolole) in 1932.
By the 1880s, Batswana tribes, including Bakwena, had begun expressing dissatisfaction with missionary schools. Teaching was conducted in the vernacular, but parents wanted instruction in English. They also desired practical subjects beyond scripture. In 1883, the visiting LMS secretary noted in his report the need for curriculum development to extend beyond biblical teaching into 'Industrial Education.'
As Sechele I advanced in age and could no longer perform certain functions, his son Sebele took charge of kgotla affairs. When his father died in 1891, Sebele assumed leadership, though he officially took over as Kgosi in 1893. By then, many in Molepolole had been exposed to formal education, albeit at a rudimentary level. Most teachers were unqualified, some having only reached Standard 2 or 3 themselves. According to oral historian, Keineetse Sebele, among the first pupils at the new school were Kelebantse, Martinus Seboni, and David Dikgaka, all three would later play significant roles in tribal affairs.
From 1895 to 1918, Mary Partridge led the LMS school in Molepolole. She focused on uplifting Batswana women through Christian education, establishing a Girls’ Industrial School and women’s Bible classes.
By 1900, the LMS school in Molepolole served only about 80 students regularly – a 50 percent decline since 1870. The Setswana curriculum only went as far as Standard 3 and, besides teaching fundamentals of reading, writing, and arithmetic, consisted of Bible History, catechism, and learning the map of Africa. Despite over half a century of education, no Mokwena had earned a teaching certificate, according to historian Jeff Ramsay.
In response to these limitations, Batswana tribes pushed for change. Dikgosi introduced education levies to hire teachers for English lessons, sparking the “national schools” movement. This began in Kanye under Kgosi Bathoen and spread to Molepolole, Mochudi, and Serowe.
In 1907 Kgosi Sebele 1 instructed his people to contribute towards building a ‘suitable” church for the tribe. In cooperation with Reverend Hayden Lewis the work was commenced. The Kgosi sent regiments of young men to the gold mines to earn money for the church building and, in that year, “a beautiful imposing building was opened” (Merriweather).
During the same year a school was constructed between the new church building and the LMS clinic. In his book The Magic of Perseverance, David Magang recalls the school as a fresher in 1943, “Lewis Primary School was known as Junior School... was only so named because some process of learning was in progress there, it was a makeshift, jerry-built structure which comprised only two classrooms. The classes ran from Sub A to Standard 1 only, with the two classrooms reserved for Sub B and Standard 1 respectively; those in Sub A including myself, were taught in the open air, under the canopy of a fair-sized tree”.
Sebele I recognized education's value for the future. He had been pressing the LMS to introduce a higher curriculum since 1894. At the beginning of the twentieth century, demand for English-medium education intensified, becoming what historian Parsons describes as a source of 'nationalist' conflict with English missionaries and colonial authorities.
This consciousness led to an independent schools movement that gained momentum across the territory. It likely originated in Kanye, where Kgosi Bathoen initiated an education levy to pay a local teacher, Kgosikobo, to teach English. Other large villages, namely, Molepolole, Mochudi, and Serowe, followed this pattern, marking the start of 'national schools.' Paramount chiefs established special levies to pay teachers, empowering themselves to take control of their tribes' education.
By establishing his National School, Sebele succeeded in outflanking internal critics on education while leap-frogging the colonial administration's minimal concern about instructional quality (Ramsay).
Toward the end of the first decade of colonial administration, both government and LMS reviewed their posture of indifference toward education. In 1904, following a recommendation by Resident Commissioner Julian Ellenberger that natives' educational sacrifices deserved government recognition, either through grants or by supplying equipment and books, the first grant of £600 was given toward native education.
That same year, the Burns Report on LMS schools in the Protectorate was published, noting the acute need for better school management and decrying the scarcity of qualified teachers. Six months later, the Sargant Report followed. Two important outcomes were the formation of Tribal School Committees and the introduction of a school levy, both arising from tribes' own initiatives.
Unlike many African colonies where education remained purely missionary-led until much later, Batswana tribes took early control through Tribal School Committees. Established between 1905 and 1910 among Bakwena and Bangwaketse tribes, these committees gave local leaders (Dikgosi) oversight of school operations and curriculum. To reduce dependence on both colonial administration and missionaries, tribes introduced levies and used regiment labour to build and fund their own schools.
A new School Committee was constituted in Molepolole in 1908 to oversee expenditure for the 'national' school, supported by a two-shilling levy on all taxpayers. Similar schools were built in Mochudi (1901), Serowe (1905), and Kanye (1909). Although the School never quite matched its founders' high ambitions, its formation reflected Sebele's growing identification of his bogosi with the rising tide of black African nationalism, according to historian and author Jeff Ramsay.
Once tribes took responsibility for funding their children's education, control of schools fell into their hands. Local schools were run by Tribal School Committees and financed by local treasuries, which received half of the £2 annual tax paid by all Bakwena men. Eventually, mission schools were taken over by the committees. By 1929, there were 82 schools in the Protectorate, with more than half run by missionary groups. The LMS owned 39 while only one was owned by the colonial government, though by 1945 all LMS schools had been handed to Tribal Authorities, as noted by education scholar Fazloor Moorad.
Sebele I died in Ntsweng in 1911 and was succeeded by his son Kealeboga, who assumed the name Sechele II upon ascending the throne. At this time, the village was divided, the main kgotla (tribal administration) remained at Ntsweng while the rest of the village was in Borakalalo. The process of moving the entire village to Borakalalo was ongoing when Sebele died.
Kealeboga's reign proved short-lived, lasting from 1912 to 1918. He was not Sebele I's preferred successor – his father would have chosen Moiteelasilo, Kealeboga's half-brother, who was educated at Tiger Kloof College in South Africa. However, the tribe would not allow it.
Almost immediately, Kealeboga found himself at odds with the tribe over his marriage to his second wife, Lena Rauwe of Tonota. Compounding this, he clashed with British colonial officers. During a visit to Molepolole, Resident Commissioner James MacGregor accused him of insubordination.
Against this backdrop of soured relations, both with his brothers and colonial officials, a tribal council was formed in 1916 at MacGregor's behest to serve as an advisory body to the kgosi. The kgotla appointed his brothers Kebohula, Moiteelasilo, and Tidi to serve as his helpers (Bagakolodi ba kgosi). Sechele II grudgingly accepted the council's formation.
Despite these difficulties, Sechele II expressed clear educational vision. He intended to preserve his father's two-shilling levy so that 'Bakwena, Bakgalagadi, and Masarwa' children could attend the Bakwena National School free of charge. He also desired an 'Agriculture School' in the Protectorate 'where young men would be taught manual labour such as ploughing, irrigation, and dry land farming.' He observed: 'There are many young men who ought to be taught all these works so that they might become useful to their fellow countrymen. There are many boys going out to the Gold and Diamond Mines instead of which some of them should be taught at home.'
Kealeboga died in 1918 and was succeeded by his son Kelebantse. A product of Tiger Kloof Institute in South Africa, Kelebantse was only 25 years old when he ascended to the throne. Among Bakwena dikgosi, he was the first to be fully literate in English. He had also gained experience outside the Protectorate, having worked as a clerk in South African gold mines for several years.
Like his father, Kelebantse found himself at odds with his uncles, Moiteelasilo and Kebohula. The chief remained in Ntsweng, even building the tribal office there, while his uncles were in Borakalalo. The antagonism was compounded by Kelebantse's marriage to his second wife, Tlhalefang Rauwe – daughter of Lena Rauwe and Phetlhu Sekgoma. Lena had previously been married to Kelebantse's father, Kealeboga.
More significantly, the chief did not see eye to eye with British colonial officials, resulting in his deposition in 1931 and banishment to Gantsi by the colonial administration.
In 1932, Kgari Sechele II was installed as chief of Bakwena amid a divided nation, as many protested Kelebantse's removal. Kgari had studied at St Matthews College in the Cape Colony and had always been a favourite of British colonial officials among Kelebantse's brothers.
It was during Kgari's reign that education in Molepolole truly blossomed. In 1938, Bakwena National School was constructed and officially opened in 1941. The construction company that built the school also built the chief's house at the main kgotla.
By this time, many parents wanted their children to attend school, and existing facilities were severely overcrowded. Samuel Gaselalona Kgalaeng, a local correspondent for Johannesburg's Star newspaper, mobilized teachers and influential villagers to prepare a petition appealing for more educational facilities. The petition, which also decried teacher and classroom shortages, was published in the newspaper and delivered to the Resident Commissioner in Mafikeng.
Although the colonial administration was displeased with how the matter was handled, they extended Bakwena National School by building additional classrooms, which opened in 1942. This happened while Kgari was in Europe leading Bakwena servicemen who had enlisted to fight in World War II. During his absence, tribal affairs were managed by Letlamma Sechele, Jakoba Kgari, Martinus Seboni, and Gokatweng Gaealashwe.
Keineetse Sebele says in 1946, when Bakwena servicemen returned from the war, they contributed funds to build a church in Loologane. The church, which belonged to the LMS, was used as an elementary school for wards southeast of the village, serving that purpose until after independence in 1966. In 1947, another school was built near the main kgotla called Middle School. The name was later changed to Higher Primary, and subsequently to Sebele I School. The first secondary school classes in Molepolole began there, continuing until 1959. Later that year, the secondary section relocated to new premises at GaMorwa ward and was named Kgari Sechele Secondary School.
According to Keineetse Sebele the three blocks of the new Kgari Sechele Secondary School were built simultaneously with the Kgotla Tribal Hall by Samson Construction Company from Mochudi. That company also built Jalaal Cash Store in Borakalalo next to the NRC offices, and Osman Trading Store in Boribamo as the village expanded northward. New Town was established in 1959 when Matlhalerwa ward relocated to Boribamo across the Mankgwenyane Valley. Samson Construction Company also built Boribamo Primary School and Neale Primary School, both opening in 1961.
Two other schools in the village served different communities. Molepolole English Medium School catered to children of British administration employees in the village. Members of the Afrikaner community, particularly the Jansens, were also allowed to send their children there. Another school stood in Mokgopeetsane to the east, intended for coloureds who lived in that area. Most had migrated from the southern Cape and were permanently resident in Molepolole.
Conclusion
Missionaries pioneered formal education in Kweneng, as elsewhere in Botswana, through various societies competing for converts. However, it soon became apparent that missions could not support education as demand among Batswana increased. Consequently, education remained largely in tribal hands.
As historian Parsons (1984) aptly observes: 'The underlying strength of Botswana's educational heritage has always been local community initiative.' Chiefs mobilized their tribes through taxes and labour to build schools for their children's future. The British colonial administration did not prioritize education for Batswana.
Halpern (1965) summed up the result of this neglect: 'Educationally the Batswana are probably more backward than any other people in Africa which has been under British rule, they are challenged only by Swazi's for this dubious distinction.' Yet within this challenging context, the Bakwena people's determination to educate their children laid foundations that would serve them well beyond independence.
*Titus Mbuya is a founding trustee of the Kgosi Sechele I in Molepolole.