05/03/2025
Summary of the Committee of Supply Speech for Organization 0600, Consolidated and Development Funds Estimates 2025/2026, delivered by Honorable Nono Kgafela-Mokoka, Minister of Child Welfare and Basic Education, to the National Assembly on March 5, 2025.
Introduction
Presented the 2025/2026 budget proposal for the Ministry of Child Welfare and Basic Education.
Highlighted the rationale for combining Child Welfare and Basic Education to strengthen the educational system, particularly at the elementary stage, and refocus on children’s rights and welfare.
Noted that the Ministry is still being constituted, with some portfolios yet to be transferred from other Ministries, requiring additional resources once fully functional.
Provided an overview of major activities, challenges, and mitigation measures from 2024/25.
Review of 2024/25 Budget
Recurrent Budget: Initially allocated P15,535,147,920, reduced to P15,187,540,799 due to cuts (a 2% reduction of P347,607,121). Spent P12,601,970,677 (84%), with challenges in funding temporary teachers’ salaries, food, textbooks, and stationery.
Development Budget: Allocated P472,186,382, revised to P361,516,382 due to economic performance. Expended P224,165,555 (62%) by February 2025, used for digitalization (ICT integration) and infrastructure development/maintenance.
Review of the Ministry’s Mandate
Social Protection for Child Welfare: Emphasized child welfare as key to sustainable development, focusing on protection systems, Early Childhood Development (ECD), and addressing poverty, violence, malnutrition, and access to services.
Policy and Legislative Framework: Botswana adheres to the Convention on the Rights of the Child (1995), African Charter (2001), and other protocols. Enacted the Children’s Act (2009) and ratified The Hague Convention on Inter-Country Adoption, with reviews planned for 2025/2026.
National Social Protection Framework (NSPF): Approved in 2020 to address risks and vulnerabilities effectively.
Child Welfare Programmes: Proposed a P300 monthly allowance for newborns up to 12 months, free sanitary pads for female students, and implementation of NSPF to address child vulnerabilities.
Early Childhood Development: Commended past efforts by the Ministry of Local Government and Traditional Affairs, with plans to implement the ECD Framework.
Orphans and Vulnerable Children (OVC) Programme: Supports orphans, destitute children, and Remote Area Dwellers’ children with relief services, mental health support, capacity building, foster care, and malnutrition aid.
Supplementary Feeding Programme: Manages food procurement for 768 primary schools and 966 health facilities, covering 387,240 pupils and 310,411 beneficiaries, plus drought and flood contingencies.
Academic Performance
Primary Level (2024): 53,044 candidates (up 1.55% from 2023), 99.80% achieved Grade E or better, with slight improvements in higher grades (e.g., Grade C or better up 1.30% to 73.30%).
Junior Secondary Level (2024): 45,255 candidates (up 1.13%), improvements across grades (e.g., Grade C or better up 1.46% to 38.57%), with 14.44% unclassified (down 2.16%).
Botswana General Certificate in Secondary Education (2024): Performance stable, with 152 candidates scoring 48 points (6As), and 71.30% scoring 24 points or above (up from 69.90% in 2023).
Access to Quality Education
Early Childhood Education (ECE): 739 of 768 primary schools rolled out reception classes by 2024 (up from 714), enrolling 32,697 learners (up from 26,907). Challenges include insufficient permanent teacher posts.
Language Policy: Implemented in 170 schools with 13 languages, with Phase II preparations ongoing for additional languages.
Primary Education: Enrollment rose to 402,160 in 2024 (from 389,615 in 2023), straining facilities and leading to shift models.
Secondary Education: Challenges in Outcome-Based Education (OBE) include equipment and staff shortages. Transitioning from STEM to STEAM to integrate arts and enhance 21st-century skills.
Training: Trained 126 teachers and 150 aides for pre-primary and mother tongue use, plus 3,595 teachers for OBE. School management training ongoing.
Special Education: Completed Maun Centre for Special Education to serve children with severe disabilities, operational in 2025/26.
Education Facilities and Digital Transformation
Facilities: Enrollment growth outpaces infrastructure, with maintenance issues due to poor management and vandalism. Proposed insourcing labor and expanding internship programs.
Digital Transformation: Launched Botswana Learning Passport, expanded digitalization to junior secondary schools (13,625 laptops), and trained teachers in online pedagogies. Examination processes enhanced with ICT.
Regulation and Legal Framework
Botswana Examinations Council (BEC): Redesigned post-2019 Amendment Act, with plans to integrate TVET assessments.
Botswana Teaching Professionals Council (BOTEPCO): Developed Teacher Registration and Licensing System, ready for use in 2025/26.
OVC Policy: Transitioning from Ministry of Local Government, developing a national policy at P1,500,000, addressing 16,301 registered orphans.
Budget Proposals for 2025/26
Total Budget: P12,513,564,451 (Recurrent: P11,684,932,980; Development: P828,631,471).
Recurrent Budget: Down 30% from 2024/25’s P15,187,540,799, with 80% (P9,243,830,191) for personnel. Additional funding needed for new roles (e.g., social workers). Includes P69,000,000 for sanitary pads and P591,103,880 for school feeding.
Development Budget: P542,831,471 for secondary education (expansion, maintenance, housing), P270,000,000 for digitization (e-learning, ICT devices), and P7,900,000 each for special needs and examination enhancements.
Conclusion
Requested approval of P11,684,932,980 (Recurrent) and P828,631,471 (Development) for Head 0600 in the 2025/26 Appropriation Bill.
