Teachers reject gov’t P625 pay proposal
Calistus Kolantsho | Monday June 15, 2026 06:00
The ministry stated the competition model would change from the previous one to include competition at district, region, and national levels.
Assistant Minister of Child Welfare and Basic Education, Justin Hunyepa, met with teachers' unions this week to expedite negotiations that have stalled for seven years.
Botswana Sector of Educators Trade Union (BOSETU) lead negotiator, Moffat Bagani, told Mmegi Sport that teachers are against government's proposal of P625 allowance per day.
He highlighted that the allowance would only be paid out to teachers during the competition period and would exclude the training period. Bagani added they were aware of the current economic situation in the country,y but reasonable proposals should be looked into and considered.
According to a proposal that was submitted to government after consultation with BOSETU and Botswana Teachers Union (BTU) members, there should be an introduction of a 26-day payment model.
“This approach will help address almost all issues, even those outside the sport scope. The government should pay overtime as per the Employment Act to those taking part in sporting activities. Measures could be put in place to ensure that the facility is not abused and used as budgeted,” the document reads. Unions also gave the government an option to pay 15% of the teachers’ salary allowances for only those taking part in school sport.
Bagani said such a payment to the select few would reduce costs. He said the other option is for the government to pay P1,500 allowances to teachers taking part in school sport.
Bagani added that this is the last proposal they have for the government, as agreed by the unions that met during consultations with the members.
“Educators are more than willing to take part in school sport, but will only do so when one of the three proposals is considered. Unions are willing to engage with the government for possible negotiation and conclude on the matter,” he said.
Bagani said maybe it is better to go back to the old format, which was discontinued in 2019. The model had sub-zonal, zonal and national competition. Teachers were getting P500 per day at the sub-zonal stage, P600 for zonal competitions, and P800 for national competitions.
The allowances also included night outs for teachers accompanying students or sharing accommodation with students in classrooms.
School sport was halted in 2019 over concerns of unfair treatment of those taking part in school sport, non-adherence to the Employment Act and failure to pay overtime in time.
In 2020, both BTU and BOSETU were invited to participate in the Joint Task Team on the review of School Sport (JTTSS), and they made their submissions. Unions were not against the restructuring processes of school sport, but the task team did not address the issue of educator coaches’ remuneration.
In 2023, the then Ministry of Youth Empowerment, Sport and Culture Development (MYSC), sent a new proposal to both unions on how school sport should be resumed.
“They proposed a once-off P2,000 allowance for stage one and two of competitions and P300.00 per day at the national levels. The ministry also proposed P100, P150 and P200 per stage for technical officials. Unions made a counter proposal that all taking part in school sport should be paid as per the Employment Act in relation to overtime, 15% of basic salary or a fixed P1,500 monthly allowance,” the proposal reads.
In May 2024, MYSC sent another proposal in which they proposed that there should be four sport codes at primary school and 10 sports codes at secondary school.
The ministry's budget was P55 million, with P44 million allocated for allowances and P11 million for administrative purposes. Allowances for coaches stood at P2,000 once off per term and P200 per day for technical officials.
Unions made a joint position on the proposal, but MYSC was unwilling to negotiate.
The proposal was that there should five percent basic salary monthly allowance plus any other benefit for a government employee working outside a duty station as per the dictates of government policy.
Unions proposed P350 per day for technical officials plus the above part of other benefits, reduce the length of competition and do it within budget.
Bagani said they expect the government to invite unions to another meeting next week, where they expect a response to the proposal.