Students graded 0 for lost exam papers
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While the whole country is still in shock over the poor recently released JC results, new investigations by WeekendPost have revealed that a number of students from different schools were graded a 0 mark for exam papers that got lost between the school authorities and Botswana Examinations Council (BEC) officials.
This publication can confirm that all 33 Art students at Marakanelo CJSS in Ncojane Village in the Kgalagadi District got a ‘Fail and Discontinue’ grade in the Art subject; A student got As and Bs plus an X at Mmachibaba CJSS in Ratholo in the Tswapong District and was awarded an overall X for all the subjects; At Rutang CJSS in Tonota, some students were given a 0 marks for mistakes done by officials.
Secretary General for Secondary Sector, Thomas Kajuu confirmed the incidents of at least these three schools. He said they were aware of the irregularities and damned BEC for the poor work. “The question is when and how are they going to grade these poor kids? Will it pose fair marks? And will the public rely on it as authentic?” he questioned.
Kajuu averred that this year the country have registered more Xs than any other year. “And this is not because children did not write…it is mistakes by BEC system.BEC is not competent,” he charged. In an interview, the Minister of Basic Education Unity Dow stated that, “I can confirm that an investigation is ongoing by the BEC to determine how and why the scripts did not reach their destination for marking regarding Marakanelo CJSS case. The chain of custody of the scripts is being investigated.”
She also stated that appropriate action will be determined once the investigation is complete. “There are two possible options; re-writing or grading based on continuous assessment,” said the minister who stated that she might not be aware of many other issues because it is not every irregularity that is brought to the minister’s attention. She highlighted there are procedures in place and that a proper report is also made for records keeping.
According to reports from Marakanelo CJSS, parents of the concerned students were summoned to the school recently where they were told by the School Head, Armstrong Mothibi that their children’s papers got lost after they wrote the examinations. “He told us the papers got lost in Gaborone where children are graded. My daughter got Cs and X for Art,” said one parent who sounded a bit calm adding that, “Ga ke itse gore ke eng ne basa ba fe sengwenyana (I do not know why they did not at least give them an average mark instead of zero).”
When reached for comment, the School Head for Marakanelo, Mothibi lamented that, “We are waiting for the children’s marks from there. They are there at BEC. We have given them the papers, so we are waiting for the grades.” However, when asked to be clear on what could have happened that they were still waiting for the marks when the JC results have already been released, Mothibi lost his temper and snapped, “I know what I am saying, and I mean it. I have worked in the ministry before. Don’t tell me what to say, this issue is still under investigation between our school and BEC officials.”
The School Deputy Head, Lawrence Staphel who is at the centre of the issue as he was the last person to be in possession of the papers on behalf of the school pleaded with the reporter not to go ahead with the story saying the issue is still under investigation. “I can advise you my sister to shelf the article for now. Do not blow the issue out of proportion because it is still internal and has not yet reached the elders’ desks,” he lamented, adding that he was aware that some people were going around sharing internal issues with outsiders just to ruin other people’s reputations.
In an interview with BEC Corporate Communications Manager, Fingile Makgalemele she confirmed the irregularities and stating that as the assessment body they have investigated the issue and still on it with the relevant stakeholders. “BEC advised the school to contact and counsel the affected parties,” she noted. “When results are released they become provisional for six weeks to allow for all queries and enquiries to be attended to by the examining body. Examinations have different issues and we address them as they come, this issue is one of them.”
Makgalemele further advised that the JCE Results are still Provisional Results since they are still within the six week period that all enquiries are addressed and solved by the Council, therefore, BEC is still doing what it needs to do to solve any query that occurred during the 2017 JCE Examination period.
Pressed further to clarify on what exactly happened, Makgalemele noted that, “X denotes failure to meet grading requirements for the award of a qualification and these are addressed during the provisional six week period.” On the issue that BEC is not competent, Makgalemele’s response was that BEC is not in a position to address personal opinions.
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Local tennis team upbeat ahead of Billie Jean King cup
With almost two weeks until the 2023 Billie Jean King Cup, which will be staged in Kenya from June 12-17, 2023, the Botswana Tennis Association (BTA) ladies’ team coach, Ernest Seleke, is optimistic about reaching greater heights.
Billie Jean King Cup, or the BJK Cup, is a premier international team competition in women’s tennis, launched as the Federation Cup to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the International Tennis Federation (ITF). The BJK Cup is the world’s largest annual women’s international team sports competition in terms of the number of nations that compete.
The finals will feature 12 teams (Botswana, Burundi, Ghana, Kenya, Seychelles, Morocco, Namibia, Nigeria, Tunisia, Mauritius, Zimbabwe, and the Democratic Republic of Congo) competing in the four round-robin groups of three. The four group winners will qualify for the semifinals, and the 2023 Billie Jean King Cup will be crowned after the completion of the knockout phase.
Closer to home, the BW Tennis team is comprised of Thato Madikwe, Leungo Monnayoo, Chelsea Chakanyuka, and Kelebogile Monnayoo. However, according to Seleke, they have not assembled the team yet as some of the players are still engaged.
“At the moment, we are depending on the players and their respective coaches in terms of training. However, I will meet up with Botswana-based players in the coming week, while the United States of America (USA) based player Madikwe will probably meet us in Kenya. Furthermore, Ekua Youri and Naledi Raguin, who are based in Spain and France respectively, will not be joining us as they will be writing their examinations,” said Seleke.
Seleke further highlighted the significance of this competition and how competitive it is. “It is a massive platform for our players to showcase their talent in tennis, and it is very competitive as countries target to get promoted to the world categories where they get to face big nations such as Spain, France, USA, and Italy. Though we are going to this tournament as underdogs because it is our second time participating, I’m confident that the girls will put in a good showing and emerge with results despite the odds,” highlighted Seleke.
Quizzed about their debut performance at the BJK Cup, he said, “I think our performance was fair considering the fact that we were newbies. We came third in our group after losing to North Macedonia and South Africa. We went on to beat Uganda, then Kenya in the playoffs. Unfortunately, we couldn’t play Burundi due to heavy rainfall and settled for the position 9/10,” he said.
For her part, team representative Leungo Monnayoo said they are working hard as they aim to do well at the tourney. “The preparations for the tourney have long begun because we practice each and every day. We want to do well, hence we need to be motivated. Furthermore, I believe in my team as we have set ourselves a big target of coming home with the trophy,” she said.
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Pep Stores donates sanitary towels to Popagano JSS
The Guidance and Counseling unit at Popagano Junior Secondary School received a donation of 790 sanitary towels from Pep stores on Thursday.
When presenting the donation, Mareledi Thebeng, the Dinokaneng Area Manager, highlighted their belief in giving back to the community, as their existence depends on the communities they serve. Thebeng pointed out that research indicates one in four girls miss school every day due to the lack of basic necessities like sanitary towels. Therefore, as a company, they strive to assist in alleviating this situation. She expressed hope that this donation would help ensure uninterrupted learning for girls.
Upon receiving the donation on behalf of the students, Charity Sambire, the President of the Student Representative Council, expressed her gratitude. Sambire specifically thanked Pep Store for their generous gift, speaking on behalf of the students, especially the girl child.
She conveyed their sincere appreciation for Pep Store’s compassion and quoted the adage, “Blessed is the hand that gives.” Sambire expressed the students’ hope for Pep Stores’ prosperity, enabling them to continue supporting the students. As a gesture of gratitude, the students pledged to excel academically.
During her speech, Motlalepula Madome, the Senior Teacher in Guidance and Counseling, highlighted that many students at the school come from disadvantaged backgrounds where parents struggle to provide basic necessities. Consequently, some students miss school when they experience menstruation due to this lack.
Madome emphasized the significance of the donation in preventing the girl child from missing lessons and its potential to improve the school’s overall results. She expressed the school’s gratitude and expressed a desire for continued support from Pep Stores.
Popagano Junior Secondary School, situated in the Okavango District, holds the second position academically in the North West region. Despite its location, the school has been dedicated to achieving excellence since 2017
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Botswana misses out critical PAP committee meeting
The Pan African Parliament (PAP) committee on gender, family, youth and people with disability in its sitting considered, adopted and recommended to the plenary session the preliminary report on the framework for the model law on gender equality.
According to the last week’s media release from PAP which is sitting with its various committees until June 2nd, the committee is following up the PAP initiative to draw up a model law on gender equality to enable national governments to harmonize, modernize and standardize their legislations to address local needs is set to be discussed in Plenary.
However, what is concerning is the fact that Botswana which is a member state missed the deliberations. Kgosi Mosadi Seboko who sat in the committee representing Botswana has since been ejected by parliament and this is a huge blow for a nation that is still battling equity and gender balance.
“Although PAP has no legislative powers it makes model laws for member states to adopt. PAP also develops protocols to be ratified by countries. The input of countries at Committee state is extremely critical. It now means the voice of Botswana is missing the discussions leading up to development of protocols or model laws,” said one of Botswana’s representative at PAP Dr. Kesitegile Gobotswang who is attending the current session.
While Botswana is missing, the committee meeting took place on the sidelines of the Sixth PAP second ordinary Session being held under the African Union Theme of the Year for 2023, “The Year of AfCFTA: Accelerating the Implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area” in Midrand, South Africa and will run up to 2 June 2023. Chairperson of the Committee, Hon Mariam Dao-Gabala expressed satisfaction with preliminary processes undertaken so far towards the formulation of the Model Law,” a release from the PAP website reads.
“The law should be suitable to all countries whatever the predominant culture or religion is. The aim is to give an opportunity to women to participate in the economic, political and social development of the continent. Women are not well positioned and face a lot of obstacles. We are introducing the idea of equity in the Law because we cannot talk about equality without equity,” said Hon Mariam Dao-Gabala in the press statement.
The release has stated that among issues to be covered by the Model Law is the migratory movements of women. The Committee proffered that this has to be addressed at the continental level to ensure that migrant women enjoy all their rights and live with dignity in their destination country. The members of the Gender Committee undertook consultations to consolidate the contributions of the various stakeholders that will be the logical framework format for the Model Law.