Education Ministry on learning curve - PRO

RYDER GABATHUSE
Staff Writer | Friday February 1, 2008 00:00

At the Ministry of Education (MoE), it seems the year 2008 has started on the wrong foot with the month of January registering four major incidents that have set tongues wagging across the country. Twenty-two Francistown Senior Secondary School students were last week sent home after they were caught 'beach partying' along the Shashe River in Mathangwane village, a few kilometers outside Francistown. As if this was not enough, the following day Shoshong Senior Secondary School suspended about 200 Form Five students for causing mayhem at the school following an electricity outage.

At the Tlokweng College of Education, students boycotted classes and meals complaining about the filthy environment whilst at the Gaborone Technical College (GTC) students boycotted classes claiming that they were 'not taught' as there was an acute shortage of lecturers.All these issues apparently overshadowed one of the MoE's major achievements this week when education minister, Jacob Nkate, received 19 buses from the Central Transport Organisation (CTO) for use by some of the government-aided schools.Are all these developments a sign of a bad year for the MoE? Nomsa Zuze, MoE PRO disagrees and instead treats the recent developments 'as a learning experience for us'. In her view, the latest developments are going to help the MoE grow. 'In every organisation there are the ups and downs'. Zuze said that since the issues at the two senior secondary schools and the two colleges are not related, she was comfortable dealing with them separately. She said it was apparent that at the two senior secondary schools, the students were engaged in acts of indiscipline forcing the respective school managements to take remedial action. 'Look at FSSS. Students were caught drinking alcohol and a corrective measure was employed to curb indiscipline,' Zuze explained. She added that the same applies to the Shoshong Senior Secondary School where Form Five male students caused mayhem.

She further indicated that the MoE has accepted the bad conditions at the Tlokweng College of Education 'and we have taken the trouble of visiting the college and P2 million set aside for refurbishment'. Whilst she felt that students need not show their concern by rioting, maybe we have taken too long to address their concerns'.

At the GTC, Nkate was scheduled to meet the student representative council (SRC) but they (SRC) have apparently refused. 'The GTC SRC insists that the minister should address the entire student community and not the minister. That is the reason why the minister has advised the students to go back to the classes or return home to relax if that is their choice,' she said. Meanwhile, Botswana National Front (BNF) publicity secretary, Moeti Mohwasa described the latest developments involving schools and colleges under the supervision of MoE as signs of discontentment. 'This is a case of people venting out their frustrations.

This is a sign of unhappiness and discontent across the country generally,' Mohwasa pointed out. To him, the issues of civil strife show deeply that the students have generally been 'keeping these issues within themselves and now things are exploding'. Botswana Congress Party (BCP) publicity secretary, Dumelang Saleshando said that he has recently been touring schools in his constituency and 'in totality, I am convinced that the MoE is not in control of its portfolio'. He was worried that ceilings are falling on teachers. 'Our MoE is living in the past whilst international trends show that students involved in acts of indiscipline should be counselled by well-trained people and not simply expelled,' he said.

He believes that the students should not be treated like children but they should be regarded as stakeholders. In conclusion, Saleshando described the management in that ministry as 'ineffective and dysfunctional'.