Education in Botswana

Secondary education in Botswana is neither free nor compulsory.[1][2] In 2002, the gross primary enrollment rate was 103 percent, and the net primary enrollment rate was 81 percent.[1] Gross and net enrollment ratios are based on the number of students formally registered in primary school and therefore do not necessarily reflect actual school attendance. Recent primary school attendance statistics are not available for Botswana.[1] As of 2001, 86 percent of children who started primary school were likely to reach grade 5.[1] In Botswana’s education system, girls and boys have equal access to education. Girls, however, are likely to drop out of secondary school due to pregnancy.[1]

Botswana made great strides in educational development after independence in 1966.[3] At that time there were very few graduates in the country and very few Batswana attended secondary school. With the discovery of diamonds just after independence and the increase in government revenue that this brought, there was a huge increase in educational provision in the country. All students were guaranteed ten years of basic education, leading to a Junior Certificate qualification. Approximately half of the school population attends a further two years of secondary schooling leading to the award of the Botswana General Certificate of Education (BGCSE). After leaving school, students can attend one of the seven technical colleges in the country,[4] or take vocational training courses in teaching or nursing. The best students enter the University of Botswana, Botswana College of Agriculture, and The Botswana Accountancy College in Gaborone. A larger influx of tertiary students is expected when construction of the nation's second national university, The Botswana International University of Science and Technology, is completed. Many other students end up in the numerous private tertiary education colleges around the country. A high majority of these students are government sponsored. The quantitative gains have not always been matched by qualitative ones. Primary schools in particular still lack resources, and the teachers are less well paid than their secondary school colleagues. In January 2006, Botswana announced the reintroduction of school fees after two decades of free state education.[2]

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 "Botswana". 2005 Findings on the Worst Forms of Child Labor. Bureau of International Labor Affairs, U.S. Department of Labor (2006). This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Botswana brings back school fees". BBC News. 2006-01-11. Retrieved 2010-05-01.
  3. ↑ http://www.sacmeq.org/education-botswana.htm
  4. ↑ UNESCO-UNEVOC country profile

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