Students fail in schools every year because of poor teaching, Botswana Sectors of Educators Trade Union (BOSETU) Secretary General, Tobokani Rari has claimed.
Rari says teachers give out poor quality because they are overworked, the workload is too much such that teachers are forever exhausted and cannot keep up.
Rari warned parents not to be shocked by results going forward because as things stand, if the Ministry of Education does not improve the working conditions of teachers, good results are unlikely to come.
“What the ministry has done is a give and take situation. They reduced class sizes to 30 students per class during Covid-19 and have maintained that the sizes remain as such going forward. But now what we are realising is that teachers are being made to take the extra classes.
“Everything remains the same, if a teacher used to have 60 students in one class and the class gets split into half then the same teacher is expected to teach both classes, then the workload remains the same,” Rari explained.
He advised that if the Ministry is serious about improving results in schools, they will ensure that teachers are not bombarded with work because they tire and eventually produce poor results.
He said they have set up a committee to engage with the ministry, adding that a meeting has already been scheduled.
Students did not perform well with majority of them falling on grade C in the 2023 Primary School Leaving Examinations (PSLE) results. Of the 52 235 students that sat for the 2023 PSLE, 17 670 (33.83 percent) students obtained grade C. 10 587 (20.27 percent) obtained grade A, while another 10 398 (19.91 percent) obtained grade D.
The 2023 Junior Secondary School (JCE) results are expected to be announced in two weeks’ time, while the Botswana General Certificate Secondary Education (BGCSE) results will be released in March.
The 2022 JCE results revealed that seven students compared to 14 in 2021 obtained Merit, 488 compared to 543 in 2021 obtained Grade A. 4 152 got B, 10 681 got C, while 15 234 students were awarded grade D.
The 2022 BGCSE results saw only 21.38 percent of the 36 000 students who sat for examinations obtain six Cs or better.
Rari says teachers give out poor quality because they are overworked, the workload is too much such that teachers are forever exhausted and cannot keep up.
Rari warned parents not to be shocked by results going forward because as things stand, if the Ministry of Education does not improve the working conditions of teachers, good results are unlikely to come.
“What the ministry has done is a give and take situation. They reduced class sizes to 30 students per class during Covid-19 and have maintained that the sizes remain as such going forward. But now what we are realising is that teachers are being made to take the extra classes.
“Everything remains the same, if a teacher used to have 60 students in one class and the class gets split into half then the same teacher is expected to teach both classes, then the workload remains the same,” Rari explained.
He advised that if the Ministry is serious about improving results in schools, they will ensure that teachers are not bombarded with work because they tire and eventually produce poor results.
He said they have set up a committee to engage with the ministry, adding that a meeting has already been scheduled.
Students did not perform well with majority of them falling on grade C in the 2023 Primary School Leaving Examinations (PSLE) results. Of the 52 235 students that sat for the 2023 PSLE, 17 670 (33.83 percent) students obtained grade C. 10 587 (20.27 percent) obtained grade A, while another 10 398 (19.91 percent) obtained grade D.
The 2023 Junior Secondary School (JCE) results are expected to be announced in two weeks’ time, while the Botswana General Certificate Secondary Education (BGCSE) results will be released in March.
The 2022 JCE results revealed that seven students compared to 14 in 2021 obtained Merit, 488 compared to 543 in 2021 obtained Grade A. 4 152 got B, 10 681 got C, while 15 234 students were awarded grade D.
The 2022 BGCSE results saw only 21.38 percent of the 36 000 students who sat for examinations obtain six Cs or better.
