Senior secondary education is the last stage of secondary education in Botswana Government secondary schools and it stretches over 2 years at the end of which students sit for Botswana General Certificate of Secondary Education (BGCSE) examinations (Botswana Government 2002:1). It should be added however, that some private secondary schools offer programmes, albeit for a small number of learners, leading to higher certificates such as A’ Levels and Higher International General Secondary Education. Such private secondary schools include Maruapula; Westwood; and Legae Academy in Gaborone.
The aim of senior secondary education in Botswana is, among others, to prepare students for the world of work, further education, lifelong learning and to further the all round development of individual learners (Botswana Government 1997:i). Senior secondary education therefore provides further opportunities for the youth to develop their potential. It is a period when new talents unfold and flourish while existing ones are nurtured. From an economic point of view, senior secondary education in Botswana is viewed as an essential means of attaining economic growth and development as the major national resource, the people, is developed (Curriculum Blueprint 2002:1).
The 2 years of senior secondary education include an examinations period and within the same period each learner takes a minimum of 8 subjects (Curriculum Blue Print 2002:6). These subjects are selected according to table 4.2 below. In addition to the core subjects, every learner is required to take a minimum of 1 subject from each of the Sciences and Humanities and Social Sciences Group; a minimum of 2 subjects from the Creative, Technical and Vocational Group; and 1 subject from the Enrichment Group. Table 2 also shows that the senior secondary school curriculum is varied to accommodate different interests and aptitudes. However, 2 years of senior secondary education appears to be inadequate. It would appear that 2 years actually translate to about one and a half years of actual teaching in view of the fact that there are 2 school
vacations of 3 weeks each in a year and about 4 weeks of final examinations. Taking into account the length of teaching time available and the number of subjects involved at this level of education one wonders whether the education system of Botswana produces people with the necessary and/or appropriate skills and depth in knowledge for the country to compete globally. A minimum of 8 subjects to be taught in less than 2 years suggests that learners are merely being introduced to the subjects and no reasonable depth can be expected to be achieved within this time frame. The quality of senior secondary education in Botswana, in other words, is compromised by the amount of time devoted to it.
Since senior secondary education in Botswana is the last phase of formal education for a significant number of the youth, the curriculum should facilitate the acquisition salable skills for those who will not proceed to higher education. These should be skills that will enable people who possess them to be attractive to the employers in the labour market. The provision of vocational programmes, at this level of education, should be such that the programmes actually prepare the students for immediate employment. Such level of preparation could also produce young people who are easily trainable to a high level of skills since they will be in possession of the necessary skills and knowledge on which to base further training. Learners who have been subjected to rigorous vocational education are likely to engage in some economic activity even if they are not employed by anybody. The vocationalisation of senior secondary education in Botswana is very important partly as a strategy to assist young people from disenchanted families to break out of the cycle of poverty and deliver them from the shackles of deprivation (Wiles & Bondi 1993:352).
Learners who successfully complete senior secondary education are placed in tertiary institutions in Botswana where there are very limited places. A large number of the senior secondary school completers are sent to universities in South Africa and a few are sent to universities in other countries. An unconfirmed report from the Ministry of Education suggests that Botswana
currently has about 4 000 learners enrolled in South African academic institutions. Furthermore, according to this unconfirmed report these universities in South African do not register learners from Botswana direct into degree programmes. Instead, some learners are registered for a bridging course for the first year whilst others are required to do matriculation in South Africa before they can enroll for a degree programme.
Table 4.2: Botswana senior secondary school curriculum OPTIONAL GROUPS
CORE Humanities and
Social Sciences
Sciences Creative, Technical and Vocational
Enrolment
English History Single Science Design &
Technology, Agriculture
Third Language
Setswana Geography Double Science Art, Food &
Nutrition
Physical Education
Mathematics Social Studies Physics Computer Studies Music
Development Studies
Chemistry Fashion & Fabrics Religious
Education
Literature in English Biology Business Studies
Home Economics
Moral Education Human & Social
Biology
Adapted from Botswana Curriculum Blue Print (2002:6)
This seems to suggest that the Botswana General Certificate of Secondary Education is of a lower standard as compared to its counterpart in South Africa. The relentless forces of globalisation dictate that for a country to be competitive in the global society its standard of education should be comparable to those of other countries. In addition, the amount of money that the Government of Botswana spends on the bridging courses and matriculation is a lot and could be used to expand the breadth and depth of secondary
education in the country to that which is comparable to the South African matriculation system.
In view of the foregoing, President Mogae (2007:3) has acknowledged that “… the Government of Botswana spends P280 million annually sponsoring Botswana students in tertiary institutions in South Africa.” If of the 4 years each learner spends studying in South Africa, 1 year is devoted to correcting the limitations of the Botswana Secondary Education System, this in monetary terms translates to about one quarter of the total cost, which is about P70 million annually. Essentially, by sponsoring so many learners for bridging courses and matriculation in South Africa or any other country, the Government of Botswana is investing a lot of money in foreign education systems instead of investing it in the improvement of senior secondary education in the country. It does not make any economic sense to invest and create jobs in foreign countries when locally the demand for employment is colossal.
Given the school curriculum, inter alia, the quality of education depends to a very large extent on teachers and it might therefore be instructive to briefly analyse the circumstances under which teachers in Botswana secondary schools work.