BOTSWANA PROMOTES INCLUSIVE AND EQUITABLE QUALITY EDUCATION AND LIFELONG LEARNING

It is evident that indeed inclusion is at the core of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Botswana just like other nations has pledged to ‘leave no one behind’ but also ‘to reach the furthest behind first’. The Sustainable Development Goals SDGs Four (4) are exceptionally important to Botswana as a powerful advocacy platform to support the implementation and the monitoring of the UN Convention resolutions.

Botswana has embraced sustainable development as its development approach, and is fully committed to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, its principles, goals, targets and indicators. Botswana has since undertaken significant steps to ensure government and citizens are aware of what the SDGs) are all about. A national structure was established to coordinate SDGs implementation to ensure an ‘all of Government approach’ to SDGs and a roadmap for their rollout has been developed.

According to the SDG Report 2018, more than half of children and adolescents worldwide are not meeting minimum proficiency standards in reading and mathematics. Refocused efforts are needed to improve the quality of education. Disparities in education along the lines of gender, urban-rural location and other dimensions still run deep, and more investments in education infrastructure are required.

This therefore require governments to respond to the SDG 4 which calls for ‘ensuring inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all’.

Botswana has therefore constituted an SDG Four (4) National Implementation Planning Team which consisted of different stakeholders including the Human Resource Development Council (HRDC). Representing Botswana SDG 4 Planning Team, the HRDC Manager, Statistics and Observatory Ms Masego Mokubung presented the plan at the Monitoring and Evaluation Framework Workshop for CESA 16 – 25 and SDG 4 held in Ethiopia, Addis Ababa on 29th – 31st October 2018.

Giving her presentation, Ms Mokubung explained the planning process which include: identification of the current status – (taking into account progress made following 2015 EFA national review); review of associated challenges that led to the current status; identification of strategies for improvements; identified performance indicators and their targets– facilitated by Statistics Botswana. “To start the SDG four (4) implementation plan, all Government Departments, Parastatal Organisations and Non-Governmental Organisations whose mandates had any relationship with any of the Seven (7) SDG targets and the Three (3) means of implementation of SDG Four (4)  were called to a planning workshop where ideals of the 10 sub goals were interpreted and translated into actionable national priorities” said Ms Mokubung.

Ms Mokubung explained that the SDG Four (4) is a bird’s eye view of global education outcome. “The 10 targets (sub-goals) of the SDG Four (4) are also global aspiration, not specific to any one context. Variations become evident when means of attaining the targets by each jurisdiction are considered”, she stated. Therefore, to come up with an implementation plan for all the 10 SDG four targets, Botswana had to consider ideals of each target and interpret them within context of the Botswana educational landscape.

Ms Mokubung informed the attendants that the desired outcome of the SDG Four (4) implementation plan among many other is to: insure competent Human Resource that can be globally employable and have sustainable livelihoods; improved inclusion of learners with diverse needs: empower youth and adults as drivers of economic development; and reduce teacher attrition rate at all level of education.

In conclusion, Ms Mokubung highlighted that, “This is only an implementation plan, the success of which will depend on absolute commitment by key players in the implementation of the suggested initiatives and subsequent credible reporting of achievements on the initiatives”.

 

News Date: 
Monday, October 29, 2018