Fact: state of our education is atrophying
Mmegi Editor | Wednesday February 24, 2016 11:45
The results show a decline in the standard of our education. It was during the era of Venson-Moitoi that automatic progression from junior secondary school to senior secondary school was introduced. This means that students who got grade C and D are admitted to senior secondary schools. We do not know what motivated this policy. It is not only automatic progression that is problematic, but also government policy that even students who performed poorly at BGCSE are admitted at some tertiary institutions. It is no longer about quality but quantity.
About two years ago President Ian Khama removed Minister of Education and Skills Development (MoESD) Pelonomi Venson-Moitoi and granted her leave of absence. Venson-Moitoi was appointed to undertake a special assignment within the MoESD. This assignment was to effect from April 1, 2014 until further notice, the nation was told. It was explained that the focus of the special assignment would be to oversee the development of the ministry’s Education and Training Sector Strategic Plan, which was a project undertaken in collaboration with international cooperating partners. The purpose of the project was to develop a comprehensive and holistic plan for the education sector, as well as harmonise and prioritise policies. It also sought to factor in issues of performance management and monitoring and evaluation of education sector programmes. The government told the nation that the importance and magnitude of the assignment was such that it would require the full time attention of Hon. Venson-Moitoi.
That was about two years ago. General elections were held in October 2014, and Venson-Moitoi was returned to Cabinet as the new Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation. The nation has not been told what happened to that special assignment. Did Venson-Moitoi file any report? What were the findings and recommendations of her report? Typical of Botswana, we have forgotten about the minister’s special assignment.
The policy (of automatic progression)has produced thousands of poorly educated graduates who cannot function in the workplace. This has also resulted in mushrooming of fly by night tertiary institutions. All the problems that are associated with education are the results of poor planning within the education sector.
The country is blessed with some of the finest educators and academics who could be engaged to fine tune some of these misguided policies. We do not believe it is too late to resolve poor standard of education in Botswana.
Today’s thought
The purpose of education is to replace an empty mind with an open one.
– Malcolm Forbes