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COLONIAL EDUCATION SYSTEM IN BOTSWANA
Education was payable at R2 per term. Administrators were colonial masters who were also taking part in the teaching and learning process. Teaching and learning was taking place under trees in a class system.Teachers were unqualified but those qualified had elementary teacher certificate obtained at colleges of education. Training was not fulltime as it was done in mafikeng hence done during school vacations. most qualified teachers were south africans from venda and sotho tribes -
BOTSWANA'S FIRST EDUCATIONAL POLICY
Botswana's first educational policy, Kagisano (Social Harmony), directed the country's educational improvement and management from 1977 to 1993. In the early 1990s, the appreciation that the country's socioeconomic state had changed drastically resulted in an evaluation of policies and strategies for Botswana's educational development. In March 1994, the Minister of Education presented Government Paper No. 2, The Revised National Policy on Education. -
EDUCATION AFTER INDEPENDENCE
Following independence, Botswana associated her education system with the predicted development progression. The system of Botswana is that, it sought to bring into being citizens who would reasonably be affianced in the improvement of a democratic nation-state yet the pedagogically approaches to education were at variation with pragmatic and sanctioning democratic education. The crucial result became mass conception of the educated or degreed citizens who could not infiltrate the job market. -
POLICY: ICT IN EDUCATION
Botswana's Education system went through an inclusive evaluation which resulted with a 'Report of the National Commission on Education 1993. ‘In the Report, the Commission made 424 recommendations, some of which were on Computer Education. -
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GOVERNMENT'S COMMITMENT TO ICT IN EDUCATION
The Government of Botswana has committed to developing a national information and communications technology (ICT) policy that will build upon recent government initiatives and assist in achieving the country's vision. THIS HAS ALWAYS BEEN PREACHED BY THE COUNTRY'S PRESIDENT AS CAPTURED BY THE VIDEO BELOW: https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=824793994551718 -
REVIEW OF THE EDUCATION SYSTEM
The Government White Paper No.2 of 1994 on 'The Revised National Policy on Education clearly highlights Government's commitment to computer education and training. At Junior Certificate level, computer literacy is highlighted as one of the main goals of the curriculum to be developed in all children. -
ICT AT SECONDARY SCHOOL LEVEL
The issue of ICT in Education in Botswana (at Secondary School level) is presently looked at from the perspective of the recommendations of The Revised National Policy on Education of 1994 -
INTRODUCTION OF COMPUTER AWARENESS
The Ministry of Education through the Curriculum Development Division, engaged a Computer Awareness Consultancy in 1995. The rationale of the consultancy was to support the Ministry to develop a Computer Awareness Course for the Junior Secondary level as recommended in the Revised Policy -
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BACKGROUND TO EDUCATION POLICY IN BOTSWANA
The Revised National Policy on Education (RNPE), Government Paper
No. 2 of April 1994, has guided the programme activities of the Ministry
of Education in terms of curriculum reforms and ongoing improvements in
the education system since NDP 8. The implementation of the RNPE was
intended to cover a timeframe of 25 years given that its recommendations
had been classifi ed for implementation in the short, medium and long term,
respectively. -
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COMPUTER LABS
Computer laboratories have been, are being and will be constructed in all the Community Junior Secondary Schools to house the equipment to be used in the Computer Awareness Course. These Labs are being constructed for the purpose of the Computer Awareness Course only. -
COMPUTER AWARENESS INFUSION
The curriculum is deliberated as a standalone and could be taught at any time during the year i.e. the modules are not necessarily in order. It has been designed to be implemented piece meal until all the necessary skills have been acquired. -
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TRIANING OF TRAINERS
The department of Teacher Training and Development is charged with the training of trainers for both the short term and the long term provisions. The Task Force members, teachers from the 7 schools with pilot labs and In-service Education Officers have been taken through some initial training by the hardware vendors. Training aimed at orientating potential computer awareness trainers on installation of hardware and software for ease of management of the labs and similarly equipped rooms. -
CURRENT POLICY VISION
Educated and globally competitive human resource by 2020 -
CURRENT POLICY MISSION
To provide efficient, quality and relevant education and training that is accessible to all -
CURRENT POLICY VALUES
- Botho: We will be compassionate, courteous, self-less and prompt in dealing with our customers.
- Transparency: We will provide full information on matters of public interest.
- Customer focus: We will be responsible to the needs of the customer at all times and consult with stakeholders.
- Flexibility: We are committed to accommodating creativity and innovation.
- THUTO: We are committed to culture of continuous learning and quest for excellence
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CONCLUSION
Botswana is a small, dynamic country with visionary leadership particularly in the sector of ICTs in education.Its education ICT policies are linked to a broader economic vision for the country. in practice, Botswana arguably boasts among the highest PC penetration in education institutions in Africa. All junior and senior secondary schools and government tertiary institutions have PC labs.The government has committed resources to improve connectivity and to promote the educational use of ICTs. -
REFERENCES
1.http://colfinder.net/materials/Supporting_Distance_Education_Through_Policy_Development/resources/worldbank/Policy/national/p24abot.html 2.https://docplayer.net/57304337-Maitlamo-botswana-s-national-ict-policy-legislative-framework-change-report.html 3.https://www.uneca.org/sites/default/files/PublicationFiles/botswana-parliament-ict-master-plan.pdF 4.https://www.balancingact-africa.com/news/telecoms-en/7902/new-botswana-ict-strategy-ambitious-but-achievable -
VIDEOS ON GOVERNMENT's CONTRIBUTION AND GOALS ON ICT IN EDUCATION
VIDEOS showcasing the Botswana;s ministry of education intentions in incorporating ICT in teaching and learning processes. these are videos of the ministry personnel airing out the government;s missions and visions of Maitlamo policy. There are also other videos of other patriotic citizens that run businesses on ICT in Education *https://youtu.be/nrYVDHLrXhE *https://youtu.be/NZplZr6mipQ *https://youtu.be/e_tLHXqOu1M
