Is Education a budget bully?
Friday, February 06, 2015
![The future: Students at the University of Botswana](https://cdn4.premiumread.com/?url=https://www.mmegi.bw/uploads/imported_images/2015/february/06/php586A.tmp.jpg&w=400&q=72&f=jpg&t=1)
The future: Students at the University of Botswana
“Most important of all, the colonial government failed to recognise the need to educate and train our people so they could run their own country. Not one single secondary school was completed by the colonial government during the whole 70 years of British rule. Nor did we inherit any properly equipped institutions for vocational training even at the lowest level of artisan skills.” The first president, the late Sir Seretse Khama uttered these iconic words in a moving speech given at Uppsala, Sweden on November 11, 1970.
A short four years after independence, Seretse was outlining what continues to be the principal rationale guiding budgetary investments in education. A lot of work needed to be done, he was saying essentially, and that work will be the foundation of the Botswana we aspire to.
The BDP as a party known to have ample resources has always held its primaries well in time, but this time around that was not the case. The first leg of the primaries was held last weekend, with the final leg being billed for the coming weekend. This time around, the BDP failed to shine in its primary elections. The elections were chaotic; most if not all polling stations didn't open at the specified time of 6am. Loyal BDP members braved the...