Two-tier education system demands action

Whilst we join Botswana Sectors of Educators Trade Union (BOSETU) and other stakeholders in commending the rise in top grades, a testament to the unwavering effort of many teachers and pupils, this progress is fundamentally shadowed by a failing that shames our society. The stark, persistent urban-rural divide is not just a statistic, but an active betrayal of thousands of young Batswana.

The figures are a damning indictment. When pass rates in regions like Gantsi and Chobe languish around 30%, whilst urban centres thrive, we are witnessing the systematic failure of equitable promise. These 18,000 candidates branded with an E or ungraded are not simply numbers; they are young lives, their futures severely limited, at acute risk of being cast onto the streets. As BOSETU’s Secretary-General Tobokani Rari rightly states elsewhere in the publication, this is “very, very disturbing”.