Botswana Federation of Trade Unions has noted with concern a response(s) from the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Child Welfare and Basic Education, Ms. Mmamiki Kamanakao, made at a seating of the Public Accounts Committee on the 13th May 2025.Responding to a question from Member of Parliament, Mr Leepetswe Lesedi on her knowledge of challenges faced by Schools across the country and what her Ministry intends to do with the said challenges, the Permanent Secretary stated that amongst the strategies they have come up with as a Ministry to address these challenges is what they termed ‘concession’. This strategy according to the Permanent Secretary seeks to privatize certain Public Schools. She goes further to say, this Privatization may or will be done through, either teachers grouping themselves to come with Private entities to take over such schools or have private individuals taking over these schools. According to her, this is part of improving the education system, enhance poor school’s results that the country has been experiencing and she firmly believes that Government cannot shoulder the Education burden alone.
BFTU wishes to categorically state that such a response from the Permanent Secretary was very reckless and unfortunate. We will as a federation vigorously reject any proposal to sell our public schools. Notwithstanding the fact that the proposed ‘Concession’ cannot solve any of the challenges faced by our schools, it’s not aligned to the United Nations Principles of Universal Access to education which one at the level of Permanent Secretary must be aware of. The response is also deviant from the UDC Manifesto, comes as a shock, hence we demand that it be clarified. The UDC Manifesto, Pillar 4 on Education, Research and Human Resource Development is clear on the intended outcomes of a reformed Education System and such cannot be achieved by the sale of Education to private entities or business persons.
Universal access to education means all individuals, regardless of social class, race, gender, sexuality, ethnicity, or disability, have equal opportunities to learn and achieve their full potential through education and this is also clearly espoused in Sustainable Development Goal No.4.Botswana as signatory to the SDG’s, cannot be seen to be enacting such anti-progressive policies let alone conceiving them in thought processes. It cannot therefore be correct that ‘concession’ will at any point help achieve such a goal.
Education remains a fundamental Human Right that must be guaranteed without discrimination on any basis let alone affordability. Privatisation of these Public Schools as proposed by the PS means turning education into a commodity that can be sold and this is against the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. As Botswana Federation of Trade Unions, we challenge the Government to clarify this response by the Permanent Secretary and put us into confidence on this intended sale of Public Schools if indeed this a position of Government.
