Botswana a model for Africa?

Introduction
Jacob Nkate, the Minister of Education, had good news to tell the people as he toured northwestern Botswana in early January. The country had achieved its 10-year goal of ensuring every Botswanan child had access to basic education through the provision of schools that cater for children from Standard One to Junior Certificate (ten years of education). The goal was set in 1995 following the Revised National Policy on Education. Beyond this, "the focus is for every child to have universal access to education right from the primary level to secondary and tertiary levels to reach the dream target of 100 percent by 2016," said Nkate.
The year 2016 features prominently in most Botswana programmes and education is no exception. The target year was set by a 1997 Presidential Task Force, which began work on mapping a long-term vision for the country. The result of the task force was the Vision 2016 Report, Botswana's development blueprint, which features education as a prominent aspect in preparing to "own" the future. According to the blueprint, Botswanans "anticipate a future where citizens would have gone beyond basic education to become an educated and informed nation in the year 2016".
National Policy on Education
Education has consistently enjoyed a favoured position in the allocation of the national budget since independence from Britain in 1965, and especially following the discovery of diamonds in 1967. This discovery transformed Botswana from one of the poorest countries in the sub-region to the one with the most stable economy. Indeed, when the World Conference on Education was held in Jomtein, Thailand in 1990 and declared 'Education for All' as its major theme, Botswana was already in the middle of implementing its own goals towards the provision of basic education for all its citizens. Those goals were set out in the National Policy on Education (NPE) of 1977, which provided the policy framework for the education system in Botswana.
The 1977 NPE was a product of the National Commission on Education appointed the year before. This Commission was charged with formulating the country's philosophy of education, setting goals for the development of education and training, and recommending the best strategies for achieving those goals. Unlike the current Millennium Development Goals, the general strategy of the NPE was to increase access to education at all levels and to close a chapter of restricting access to only a few privileged individuals, which was one of the legacies of Botswana's colonial past.

Emphasis in the NPE was put on universal access at the primary school level by increasing government expenditure. This saw the period 1981-5 enjoying an increase in enrolment in primary schools thanks to the abolition of school fees and the construction of more government and privately owned schools. However, the government also wanted to increase the output of more highly educated people to meet the skills demand and to reduce dependency on migrant workers from countries such as Zimbabwe, South Africa and Zambia. These goals were set for 1990, coinciding with the Jomtein Conference.
As well, a proposal was made for the reorientation of the schools' curricula to embody the citizenship goals of democracy, development, self-reliance and unity. Emphasis was placed on the acquisition of the basic knowledge and skills that Botswanans would need in a developing, rapidly changing society and economy. The aspect of self-reliance was given special prominence and students were required to develop skills in crop production and industrial arts.
Revised National Policy on Education
While Vision 2016 is the guiding spirit behind Botswana's education developments, it was the Revised National Policy on Education (RNPE) of 1995 that shaped the vision. This revised policy was made in response to considerable changes in the country's socio-economic position since the earlier policy of 1977. For instance, while the 1977 policy came into effect only 12 years after independence when most of the country's workforce still lacked basic skills, Botswana was faced in the mid-1990s with the new challenge of preparing a workforce for the global economy. Hence, it was necessary to revise the education policy which had been in operation, in order to realign it with the country's goals and aspirations and to refocus its priorities.
The Jomtein Conference Declaration was an important source of information for the RNPE in that it provided a basis for realigning the goals of Botswana's education system with global initiatives. The RNPE not only identified basic education as a fundamental human right but also established the goal of preparing Botswanans for the transition from a traditional agro-based economy to an industrial economy that would enable Botswana to compete with other countries.
Its objectives were as follows:
· To raise educational standards at all levels
· To emphasise science and technology in the education system
· To make further education and training more relevant and available to larger numbers of people
· To improve the partnership between school and community in the development of education
· To provide life-long education to all sections of the population
· To assume more effective control of the examination mechanism in order to ensure that the broad objectives of the curriculum are realised
· To achieve efficiency in educational development.
Achieving balance
The NPE of 1977 did not set any explicit goals for the provision of education to Botswanans with special educational needs. Providing for these needs became a concern of government in the early 1990s. As per the recommendations of the 1995 RNPE, the government established the Division of Special Education which was charged with the responsibility of providing planning, advisory, and administrative services for children with disabilities across all levels of the education system. One of the goals of the new division was to mainstream special education services in the regular education system and, where necessary, set up separate special education units.

In addition to achieving universal access to basic education through schooling, the RNPE devised other strategies through which universal access would be achieved, both for children and adults. These included out-of-school education and education for the poor and disadvantaged such as the introduction of distance learning programmes through the Botswana College of Distance and Open Learning (BOCODOL). These programmes were designed to afford people the opportunity to learn as they continue with other aspects of their lives, including work. Other RNPE strategies for the disadvantaged included a facility for the identification and referral of children with special needs; increased enrolment of children with special needs; establishment of a Braille Production Unit; and the introduction of Diploma and Degree programmes in Special Education.
Importance was also placed on educating disadvantaged communities such as Remote Area Dwellers (RADS) like the Kalahari Bushmen. Other groups of disadvantaged people included rural destitutes and pregnant girls who drop out of school. The emphases on RADS and drop outs due to pregnancy are significant because historically these were groups that received the least government support as far as provision of social services, particularly education. Provision of education for these special populations was historically the domain of NGOs.
The revised policy also identified the need for improving the quality of education, which was generally believed to have been compromised by concerns of access. For example, the RNPE recommended raising the standard for teachers, both in terms of academic and professional qualifications, and introducing remedial teachers into the basic education system.
Reaching special groups
As noted above, the RNPE recognized the need to increase participation of disadvantaged groups in basic education. The education of RADs in the primary sector provides a good example of how both formal and non-formal means were envisioned. In 1995, the country adopted a curriculum for schools that is skill-based and non-prescriptive, meaning that teachers receive standard materials, which they can then adapt to local contexts to incorporate the knowledge and experiences of their students. This adaptability aspect has been used all over the country in such subjects as agriculture, where components are taught according to the terrain and climate of a given area (very important in view of the difficult arid conditions in much of Botswana).

A second special group is the children of destitute families. Policies were devised to address issues of school fees and feeding programmes. However, a weakness in the RNPE was a lack of stock-taking to ascertain how many learners fall into this group, where these learners are, and whether the relief that is planned for their benefit would actually reach them. No specific targets were set for this population.
A third special group are teenage girls who become pregnant. This is a problem that the school system has lived with for quite some time. In the past, it dealt with this issue in a punitive manner. School girls who became pregnant (and in some cases the boys who were implicated in the pregnancies) were expelled, most of the time never to return to the public school system. A small percentage of these girls re-entered school and attended private night schools, or chose to pursue their studies through non-formal means. The present regulations are more progressive in that they exhibit greater tolerance and sympathy for young learners who fall pregnant. Again, however, no specific targets were set either for reducing teenage pregnancy or for devising measures that would enable them to pursue their education.
National Literacy Programme
On another front, Botswana created the National Literacy Programme in the Department of Non-formal Education (DNFE) to ensure everyone access to basic education. Its initiatives include the Literacy at the Workplace Project, Income Generating Projects, the Village Reading Rooms, and English as a Second Language.
The Literacy at the Workplace Project, though conceived in the 1980s, started as an organised initiative in 1991. The purpose of this project is to reach non-literate people at their places of work. The general operational strategy is that the DNFE and the target organisation work together to identify non-literate workers. The responsibilities of the organisation are to provide space or identify a venue where classes can be held, to arrange a class schedule and to release the employees to attend classes. It must also provide payment for the teacher. For its part, the DNFE identifies and trains the teacher and provides teaching materials. A total of 51 organisations have participated in the Literacy at the Workplace Project since its inception in 1991. To date, there have been 580 participants.
The Income Generating Activities Project is charged with imparting productive and business management skills to people who participate in the National Literacy Programme as a means of improving their livelihood. This affords them the opportunity to use their literacy and numeracy skills in real life situations, thereby avoiding a relapse into illiteracy.
The Village Reading Rooms project is run jointly by the DNFE and the Botswana National Library Service (BNLS). It was conceived in the 1980s as a post-literacy programme to offer the newly literate an opportunity to read beyond their primers.
The English as a Second Language programme is an outcome of the 1984 and 1987 evaluation studies of the National Literacy Programme. These evaluations revealed a need for the provision of English as a Second Language for communication and further studies.
In addition, DNFE has planned activities to commemorate International Literacy Day in every year this decade. These activities have included speeches, learner testimonies, poetry, singing, and exhibits of learners' work, both from within the classroom and outside it.
Distance and open learning
The premier institution offering alternative learning opportunities is BOCODOL, which was established to offer basic education courses. Other kinds of distance and open learning are also employed. The medium of radio, for example, is utilised in the dissemination of educational messages to Botswana citizens. There are a wide variety of programmes, especially on state-owned Radio Botswana, that are aired for their educative value. These include instructional support programmes that are designed and produced by the School Broadcasting Unit of the Department of Curriculum Development and Evaluation, programmes that publicise and support literacy activities, programmes that offer agricultural education and publicise and support agricultural events.
Other mass media are also used as avenues for disseminating training and educational support materials. For instance, the local newspapers Mmegi and The Guardian carry inserts that address topical issues on education and/or offer revision materials to students enrolled in distance and open learning classes. The Mmegi newspaper's insert, "Bokamoso", is a monthly publication, while The Guardian publishes "The Guardian Learner" bi-monthly.

In further efforts to foster education wherever possible, the RNPE policy encourages shared use of all educational facilities in order to get maximum utility from classrooms and resource centres. And it allows for the easy registration of private vocational colleges.
HIV/AIDS and education
Despite Botswana's many educational achievements, the HIV menace has eroded much of the progress to date. The gains have been undermined by the fact that young people in Botswana are at present the hardest hit population by the AIDS virus. Preliminary survey results released in December 2004 by the Central Statistics Office indicate that 17.1% of the total population over 18 months of age is estimated to be infected with the HIV virus. The worrying statistic is that the population aged 15-49 years is hardest hit with an infection rate of 34.4%.
Botswana has followed the example of other southern and eastern African countries and declared an HIV/AIDS national disaster and it has charged the education sector with a more prominent role in fighting the pandemic. For example, a Life Skills education programme, with the possibility of a peer-education mode of delivery, has been developed and introduced at all levels of schooling. In addition, all sub-sectors of education have an HIV/AIDS focal point, and adapt the Life Skills programmes for the population in that sub-sector. An HIV/AIDS school policy has also been developed as a matter of urgency to help children who are infected and affected by HIV/AIDS.
While one can recognise the efforts in Botswana of infusing Life Skills across the curriculum, lessons from other countries are beginning to show that such programmes have disappointing results in that they are often viewed as just another subject that has to be learned in order to pass an exam.
Botswana's Ministry of Education believes that it is during the school years that the battle for HIV prevention is won or lost. Aware of the fundamental importance of education and sensitive to the impact of HIV/AIDS on the entire education sector, it has developed the Teacher Capacity Building programme with help from the UNDP and the African Comprehensive HIV/AIDS Partnership. This programme tries to support teachers in their frontline efforts to limit the spread of the pandemic. In a strategy adopted from Brazil, teachers attend workshops to receive training in interactive teaching skills. The programme provides mentoring and encourages participants to share practical lessons on teaching methods. The methods are then employed in the classroom to help students confront the realities of HIV/AIDS in their daily lives. The programme, now two years old, aims to promote cultural and behavioural changes in order to prevent the spread of HIV and achieve the vision of an AIDS-free generation by 2016.
Conclusion
Botswana's Ministry of Education says that the country is two percent short of achieving universal access to primary school as envisaged by the Millennium Development Goals. This compares favourably with most countries in sub-Saharan Africa, which have very low primary completion rates, many less than 50 percent.
Botswana has been able to counter low primary school rates by using its revenues from diamonds wisely, thus making it a model for Africa. Between 1966 and 2000, primary school enrolment rose from 66,100 to 327,600, representing an average compound growth of 4.8% per annum. During this post-independence period, access to education has improved tremendously. As a result, children no longer walk long distances to school and their nutritional needs are being met, including food rations for destitute children during school holidays. These measures have been taken not only to have children enrol in school but to stay in school until the end of the basic education cycle. As well, essential learning materials have been provided so that the bulk of the cost of education does not fall on parents. Today, there are no significant disparities in school attendance by orphans and non-orphans or by gender.

In addition to the education of children, the new emphasis on functional literacy and assisting learners not only to acquire literacy and numeracy skills but also to apply them in profitable ventures has given a new lease of life to literacy activities, ensuring that literacy is sustained.
All these things constitute Education Minister Nkate's good news. However, major challenges remain. Nkate himself recognizes the need for improved access to secondary school (currently, for example, only 52 percent of Junior Certificate leavers have access to senior secondary schools, well short of the 100 percent target in the Vision 2016 document). And the government still has the mammoth task of financing the expansion of existing education facilities and the construction new institutions to cater for the ever-rising number of students.
More needs to be done as well to promote a human rights based approach to social and economic development, with special emphasis on reaching the most vulnerable children. The government and donor community need to increase investment in children, and promote the practice of analysing budget expenditure to monitor the impact on children's welfare and development.
Finally, the biggest question that remains is to what extent the economy can survive the devastating effects of HIV/AIDS.
With files from:
Vision 2016 Report
The Midweek Sun (Botswana)
All Africa News Service (Kenya)
The Ngami Times (Botswana)
Integrated Regional Information Network
Kutlwano (Botswana)
The Botswana Daily
NewsfromAfrica (Kenya)
The Revised National Policy on Education (1995) and also for bullet list
The National Policy on Education (1977)
Ministry of Education
Department of Non-formal Education
Select bibliography and links:
1. Botswana Education in Brief (Botswana Ministry of Education, 1984).
2. "Botswana: Gender imbalances in education, employment need to be addressed" (IRIN News, 18 May 2004).
3. "Botswana: Reintroduction of school fees draws mixed response" (IRIN News, 22 March 2005).
4. Career Development in a Changing Society (The Case of Botswana) by Ulla Kann (Institute of International Education, University of Stockholm, 1981).
5. "Improving Botswana's progress towards universal primary education" by Lisenda Lisenda (id21.org, 21 March 2005).
6. Engendering School Learning: Science, attitudes and achievement among girls and boys in Botswana by Wendy A. Duncan (Institute of International Education, University of Stockholm, 1989).
7. Women and Productive Activities – The role of adult education by Frank Youngman (University College of Botswana, 1980).