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The Republic of Botswana was established in 1966 when Great Britain terminated its status as the colonial protector of Bechuanaland. Botswana is located in southern Africa, north of South Africa. It has a land area of 603,200 square kilometers. A landlocked nation, Botswana is completely dependent upon South Africa for access to ocean ports. Botswana is a member of the British Commonwealth and has…
Botswana is a unitary republic with a national legislature, the National Assembly, elected by universal suffrage. The national government consists of the president who is selected by the assembly, his appointed vice-president, and cabinet officials. The Minister of Education
is a member of the cabinet. There is also a House of Chiefs consisting of 15 hereditary leaders that advise on tr…
Education in Botswana is free, but it is not compulsory. The Ministry of Education has authority over all of Botswana's educational structure except the University of Botswana. The educational structure mirrors that of the United Kingdom: there is universal access to primary and junior secondary school, but a process of academic selectivity reduces entrance to the senior secondary school an…
Preschool education is available only to those children whose parents can afford to send them to expensive private day care centers and preschools. The overwhelming majority of parents have no access to preschool programs. The University of Botswana's Primary Education Department and Home Economics Education Department offer courses for students seeking the Baccalaureate Degree in Education…
Botswana's secondary education program has two levels: the three-year junior secondary program and the two-year senior secondary program. Each year is a Form; Forms I to III are completed in junior secondary and Forms IV and V in senior secondary. In 1996 the junior secondary level was expanded from two years to three years so that it would align with the 1994 revision of the government�…
The University of Botswana is located in Gaberone. Until 1975 the University College of Botswana was part of the Regional University of Botswana, Lesotho, and Swaziland. When Lesotho dropped out, Botswana and Swaziland developed as a joint university until 1982 when collective planning ceased and the two institutions separated. The University of Botswana admits approximately 3,000 new students ann…
With the exception of the University of Botswana, the Ministry of Education has authority over Botswana's educational structure. The Department of Curriculum Development plans, develops, and evaluates school curricula for primary and for junior and senior secondary schools. Each of the department's five divisions has a specific responsibility. The Curriculum Development Division oper…
Botswana Extension College was founded in 1973 as part of the Ministry of Education. In 1978 the Department of Nonformal Education was created and incorporated into the Botswana Extension College. The department supplements secondary level education by offering Junior Certificate and Cambridge "O" Level courses via distance learning. In 1980 literacy programs began for the then 250,0…
Two years after Botswana gained its independence, there were 1,791 primary level teachers, but 1,114 of these were not certified teachers. By 1985 the number of primary level teachers had increased to 6,980, and 74.3 percent were certified. The percentage of certified primary teachers has continued to increase. In 1993, about 83 percent of the 11,190 primary level teachers were certified. This tre…
Botswana is a unique country in Africa because of its sustained economic growth and political stability. Education is free, but not compulsory. While Botswana's government strives for universal education, there are barriers that must be overcome. In addition to overcrowded school facilities, the efficiency and effectiveness of teacher education is constrained by the centralized and hierarch…
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