Committee Chairperson Keetla Masogo said signing agreements with the ministry would not have any legal backing if anything goes wrong as it is only the Botswana Examinations Council (BEC) that has been established by an act of Parliament to run and administer examinations. The advice was issued on Tuesday in Parliament, at a meeting between Botswana Sectors of Educators' Trade Union (BOSETU) and the Committee, which is holding a series of meetings with stakeholders to establish events leading to last years' examinations fiasco and to find solutions to avoid the situation happening again.
Masogo said BEC is not the teachers' direct employer, but is the lawful body that oversees examinations and what MoESD should be doing is liaising with teachers to perform their duties instead of entering into agreements with unions. Human rights lawyer and a member of the committee made up of 11 people, Uyapo Ndadi said that it is not within the ministry's jurisdiction to negotiate and enter into agreements with teachers' unions as this could breed a legal war in which unions would not have a legal footing.
