We didn't tell the truth -Minister

CHANDAPIWA BAPUTAKI
Staff Writer | Thursday November 11, 2010 00:00

However, she holds that it would be wrong 'to rubbish' the value of the exams because the expected number of students sat and wrote them.

Asked whether President Ian Khama was misled to believe the exams were 'conducted successfully' while continuing ones 'are running well' as he told Parliament on Monday, Venson-Moitoi said everyone was entitled to their opinion.

'When we said the examinations went well, we meant that the expected number of students sat for the exams,' she explained. 'For everything that went wrong, there were remedial options put in place.'

The exams were written in a challenging environment in which parents questioned their credibility, while teachers gave vent to their complaints,' the minister pointed out. Without putting in it in so many words, Venson-Moitoi was almost saying it would have been unwise to admit there were problems during the exams. Hence, instead of risking de-motivating students by doing so, she focused on solving the problems. 'My concern was to avoid too much controversy in the public area when students were writing,' she said. 'Imagine what could have happened!

'My concern was the frame of mind of the students during the exams. We did everything we could to arrest the situation. Thankfully, nothing failed.'

Though circumspect during the interview, Minister Venson-Moitoi made a rare concession to teachers, saying their concerns were genuine and that they would sit and talk about them.  'I know that we cannot solve any of the concerns without the teachers,' she said.

Prior to the exams, teachers insisted on an eight-hour working day, leaving extra-curricular activities in limbo.

Negotiations between teachers' unions and the Botswana Examinations Council (BEC) regarding these 'concerns' broke down on the eve of the examinations, forcing BEC to recruit invigilators haphazardly outside working teachers. Venson-Moitoi is expected to meet with teachers' unions today.