Teacher Education and Development Study in Mathematics - IEA

PART 2: BOTSWANA
59
Teacher education
All teachers at the primary level are required to have a Diploma in Primary Education. 9
The diploma program takes three years to complete. Eligibility for the program, and
thereby eligibility for primary teacher education, rests on applicants having completed
the Cambridge Overseas School Certificate (COSC) ordinary level or the Botswana
General Certificate of Secondary Education (BGCSE). The diploma is offered at four
colleges of education (Francistown, Lobatse, Serowe, and Tlokweng). These colleges
are under direct control of the government and graduate about 400 teachers annually;
around 60% of them are women.
Students working toward the Diploma in Primary Education are required to take all
the subjects in the primary school curriculum. They are also required to select an
area of specialization from one of the following combinations: (i) mathematics and
science; (ii) English and Setswana; (iii) social studies and religious education; and (iv)
practical subjects (any two from agriculture, arts and crafts, home economics, music,
and physical education).
Individuals who do not have the Diploma in Primary Education must take an upgrading
course to acquire it. This course is offered by the Centre for Continuing Education at
the University of Botswana in the form of a distance-learning program. Teachers who
hold the Primary Teaching Certificate (PTC) also have to take the upgrading course, as
the PTC has been phased out.
As of 2002, the proportion of untrained primary school teachers was 9.3%; by 2004,
this proportion had dropped to 7.5%.
All secondary school teachers, if they are citizens, must have at least a Diploma in
Secondary Education. They must have a Bachelor’s degree in education if they are
non-citizens. Secondary school teachers teach the subjects they train in, unlike their
colleagues at the primary level, who are required to teach all subjects. The Diploma in
Secondary Education also takes three years to complete. The qualifications for entry
into junior secondary teacher education are the COSC or the BGCSE with specified
credits. The Diploma in Secondary Education is currently offered by two colleges of
education—Tonota and Molepolole. Together, the colleges graduate about 400 teachers
annually.
The subjects offered in both colleges are English, guidance and counseling, library
studies, moral education, religious education, Setswana, science, and social studies.
The College of Education at Tonota also offers agriculture, home economics, business
studies, and physical education. Art, design and technology, music, and computer
education are the province of the College of Education at Molepolole.
An addition to the above programs is the University of Botswana’s Bachelor of Education
(BEd), with specialization in primary teaching or in secondary teaching. The university
also offers a one-year postgraduate diploma in education for graduates from general
degree programs (BSc and BA) who qualify to teach in secondary schools. Secondary
school teachers who have at least six years of teaching experience are eligible to attend
staff development programs at the colleges of education.
9 Botswana operates a 2–7–3–2 structured pre-tertiary education system, with two years of pre-primary education
(for children 4 to 5 years of age), seven years of primary (6 to 12 years), three years of junior secondary (13 to 15
years), and two years of senior secondary (16 to 17 years).