Cabinet approval stalls school sport
Calistus Kolantsho | Friday February 21, 2020 12:59
With the first term about to come to an end, it was expected that the school sport would have started by now.
The expectations were that the Ministry of Basic Education would send out a savingram announcing the date when school sport would commence.
A fortnight ago, the Ministry met with BISA and Botswana Primary Schools Sport Association (BOPSSA). According to BISA spokesperson, Letsweletse Jonas, they have not received any communication from the Ministry on the issue.
“Cabinet should approve that there would be no athletics this year. But we have not heard anything from them. We have our calendar of activities and we are waiting for them to give us the green light so that we can share,” he said.
Jonas said BISA activities were expected to kick off this weekend but that would not happen. For his part, BOPSSA president, Busani Segweni said the government assigned teachers to do its role and as such they are waiting to be given orders. “We cannot be seen pushing the Ministry. Maybe they are still arranging some things that we are not aware of. All we have to do is to wait for them to give us instructions. The Ministry has our calendar of events,” he said.
Segweni said maybe the delay is an indication that there is no school athletics this term.
“First term is about to end. Maybe the focus is ball sport for next term. On the other hand, I support the Ministry for not starting activities while still owing teachers. They do not want to pile up the debt,” he said. Segweni said it would be wise to find money and pay teachers first. Teachers who took part in ball sport activities last July are owed P32 million by the Ministry. Segweni said the delays or the absence of athletics would affect other competitions slated for this year such as Confederation of School Sport Associations of Southern Africa.