BOSETU says MoE policies gender insensitive

Staff Writer | Tuesday August 31, 2010 00:00

Speaking at a BOSETU conference in Goodhope yesterday Dudzai said there are a lot of inequalities in Botswana schools.

'Policies contradict themselves. They are not gender-responsive. People are given accommodation on marital status and the number of children they have. This is unfair because getting married is a personal and not a professional choice. As a union we are saying the ministry should ensure that the policies are gender sensitive,' he said.

He said the issue of teachers being forced to share accommodation is unfair as it breeds animosity amongst teachers, low morale and also affects productivity in the workplace.

' We don't pay accommodation at market prices because it is subsidised but we are not enjoying the 15 percent housing allowance (for teachers) to rent houses in the open market. If we were allowed to do so, it will ease the conflicts caused by sharing where you find teachers crowded in a house,' he said.

He also complained that male teachers are not allowed to go on paternity leave to help their partners look after their new borns.

'We are also told that female teachers reveal cleavage. These issues of dress code are issues of bargaining and we also hear that government says male teachers should not put on short-sleeved shirts,' he said.

Also speaking at the conference, BONELA legal officer Dikeledi Dingake told teachers that their welfare is important and that they should push for legislation to protect their rights to dignity, privacy and other rights pertinent to their professional lives as teachers. She encouraged them to sue against discriminatory government policies.

'At BONELA we have paternity leave. You should demand it as teachers. If you don't take action to assert your rights you will not be able to claim them.

She advised teachers against gossiping about their colleagues' HIV status, saying it is unlawful and that it might lead to people being disoriented at work.

Keabonye Ntsabane of Genderlinks said teachers should be knowledgeable about sexual harassment issues and encouraged them to push for the creation of a policy on sexual harassment.

She also advised male teachers to desist from using violence against their love partners and warned them against resorting to murder when jilted.

'Ha ngwanyana a go tsenya stress, go and find another girl. Don't kill her because there are a lot of beautiful girls out there,' she said.