Just as some private schools have written to the Ministry of Child Welfare and Basic Education complaining about their arrangements, they will soon have to acquire teaching licences. Some private schools in December submitted a request for the ministry to keep an eye on the mushrooming of the tuition centres around the country. Further, they are appealing to the ministry to regulate tuition schools or centres around the country. “According to the Education Act, Part III Registration and Control of Schools, under sections 13 and 14, it is compulsory that all schools operating in Botswana should be registered and Section 15 discourages the advertisement of unregistered schools by their owners. Section 27: Power to close schools, speaks about your powers to close schools which don't meet inspection requirements stated in Section 26,” read the submission.
The other complaints include the following: * Tuition centres and homeschools gather children in very unsafe buildings or structures; * Tuition schools employ unqualified teachers, most of whom just completed BGCSE, some have qualifications that are not related to teaching, and aren't even in possession of permission to teach document; * The number of tuition centres in the country outnumbers the registered schools. These tuitions charge lower fees because they don't spend anything on compliance; and * The ministry officials frequently raid and spot-check registered private schools and leave out the tuition centres that are flourishing without fear of authorities. As if the report to the ministry is not causing enough headaches, the newly established Botswana Teaching Professionals Council (BOTEPCO) intends to ensure that tutors operating in schools are licensed as teachers. Responding to a questionnaire from The Monitor, BOTEPCO's Manager Corporate Affairs Mercy Rebaone Thebe said the Council is aware that there are tutorial centres which offer schooling services and is currently embarking on a stakeholder engagement exercise with them which started in October 2024.
