2014 STATE OF NATION (32) EDUCATION 136. Madam Speaker, Government’s commitment to move Botswana forward is perhaps best reflected in our enduring commitment to the education and training of our youth. This has resulted in education and vocational training consistently receiving the lion’s share of the budget. We have, however, become increasingly concerned that our quantitative success in increasing access to education over the years has not been adequately matched by qualitative achievement, as evidenced by disappointing examination results as well as the apparent skills mismatch between many of our graduates and potential employers. This has led us to review our syllabi, while looking into additional ways to improve our schools and training institutions. 137. In recognizing the challenges faced by the education sector, Government is undertaking a system level transformation in the form of the development of a sector strategic plan; the Education and Training Sector Strategic Plan (ETSSP) 2014-19. The Plan is designed to comprehensively transform education from pre-primary to tertiary level, focusing on improving both the quality and management of education. 138. Progress made towards ETSSP includes the development and implementation of programmes for the whole system. These include the introduction of reception classes, which were piloted in January 2013. This programme was expanded to another 115 public primary schools in 2014. Additional initiatives aimed at improving performance of the sector include the introduction of the six weeks “Standard One Orientation” programme in 754 public primary schools and the “Leadership Turnaround Strategy” which was piloted in 6 senior secondary schools and 42 junior secondary schools in 2013. 139. In terms of the sector’s legislative framework, progress has been made over the past year regarding the transformation of the Tertiary Education Council into the Human Resource Development Council (HRDC) and the Botswana Training Authority (BOTA) into the Botswana Qualifications Authority (BQA). The mandate for the HRDC is to coordinate Human Resource development as well as manage Tertiary education funding, while BQA is mandated to develop and implement the National Credit and Qualifications Framework that will provide accreditation and monitoring for quality assurance. 140. The Botswana Examination Council (BEC) is being transformed into a National Assessment Authority with an expanded mandate to include assessment and moderation for Technical and Vocational skills, as well as indigenous skills. #SONA
Posted on: Thu, 13 Nov 2014 14:04:34 +0000
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