Ministry of Child Welfare and Basic Education

Child welfare is responsible for policies, programmes and practices designed to ensure the wellbeing, safety and development of all children. The goal is to protect all children from harm, promote physical, spiritual and emotional health and support their growth in a stable and nurturing environment.

Child protection is defined as the prevention and response to violence, abuse, neglect, exploitation, and harmful practices that affect children (UNICEF, 2024).

Vulnerable children include children in abusive environments, poor families, child-headed households, or with sick parents, or street children, children in conflict with the law etc. This includes HIV- positive, disabled, chronically ill, and outside-family care children (USAID, 2022).

The Department of Corporate Services is responsible for Human Resource Management and Administration for non-teaching and teaching personnel.

The key mandate of the Department of Curriculum Development and Evaluation is to develop, evaluate and review curriculum for general education across all levels (Pre-primary to Senior Secondary including OSET).

The Department of Educational Technology exists to provide equitable access to education through strategic use of technology. It is responsible for coordinating and overseeing the implementation of ICT integrated teaching and learning, production of teaching aides to support special needs learners and the production of educational television and radio programmes.

4.1. Education Management Information System 

(EMIS) Unit
Mandate: Coordinate and manage educational information and statistics (enrollments, teachers, school facilities, teacher pupil ratio, textbook ratios etc) for the general education level.

Functions:

• Manage collection of data from educational institutions (Pre-Primary, Primary and Secondary Schools) Design and review data collection instruments
• Consolidate, Process, analyze and produce summary reports (Stats Briefs) and Annual reports
• Provide data on indicators for national, regional and international use.

4.2. Monitoring and Evaluation Unit


Mandate: Monitor the overall implementation and success of educational policies, projects and programmes.

Functions:

• Track progress status of implementation of planned activities for policies, projects and programmes.
• Provide technical support on M&E
• Perform Project and Programme Evaluations
• Produce Monitoring and Evaluation reports and dissemination
• Inform policy guidance/direction
• Monitor compliance to school registration standards

4.2. Research Unit


Mandate: Initiate, Monitor and co-ordinate overall research initiatives and programmes related to national sector priorities the general education sphere

Functions:

• Prioritize and oversee conduction of educational research
• Assess and approve requests for permission to undertake educational research

• Conduct educational research
• Provide technical support to stakeholders on educational research issues.

• Represent the Ministry in Educational research forums.
• Coordinate the development and distribution of school calendar

• Analyse general education national examinations to inform decision making

The Department of General Education interprets, design, develop and evaluate education policies to ensure prompt delivery of quality education for learners at pre-primary, primary and secondary levels.

5.1. Early Childhood Education

The main goal of the programme is to create an environment for provision of early childhood education in the country as a quick win interim pilot intervention while government prepares itself for provision of the pre-primary education programme in the education mainstream. The programme will be conducted through some exclusions conditions without compromising the children’s health, safety and their development while promoting their early stimulation and learning.

5.2. Primary Education

Offers seven years of Primary Education from Standard 1 to 7 in all Public Primary Schools, exit at Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE) Entry Age: Minimum;5 1/2 years in January turning 6 years by June of admission year to maximum 13 years at completion.

5.3. Secondary Education

To coordinate the provision of Junior and Senior Secondary Education. This includes the development of Policies, Policy guidelines to direct the implementation of programs, monitoring of performance, provision of resources such as books, furniture, equipment, teaching material, feeding etc. and the support of co- curricular activities.

5.4. Out of School Education and Training (OSET)

An initiative geared to give an opportunity to Batswana of all ages to education. The OSET programme comprises three sub-programmes as follows:

• Out of School Education for Children (OSEC)
• Adult Basic Education (ABEP)
• Skills Development and Training
 

5.5. Inspectorate 

Develop educational standards; monitor compliance to the implementation of education standards, policies and Acts through school inspections.

• Development of teaching and learning standards
• Monitoring compliance to teaching and learning standards
• Provision of school support to institutions for internal quality assurance
• Training of school Inspectors on inspection processes
• Liaison with other regulatory bodies

5.6. In-service

Mandate: Considering the complexity and significance of teaching as a professional practice, it is imperative that the entire enterprise of continuous professional development (CPD) of teachers is clearly delineated at national level. Hence, the apparent need to outline the mandate of In-Service Training as follows:

• To allow teachers to develop new competencies and skills as they move from classroom positions to administrative or specialist positions, or to new environments
• To respond to the demand for increased quality of educational outcomes by improving teachers’ classroom capabilities, knowledge base and professional judgement.
• To support teachers in meeting their responsibilities for learning in schools through their own pursuit of learning and excellence.
• To provide enabling conditions for teachers, employing authorities and other agencies to initiate creative approaches to emerging educational issues.
• To recognise the professional status of teachers and the consequent career long nature of the professional development process.
• To sustain the motivation, commitment and enthusiasm of teachers and to enhance their self-esteem and sense of control over their professional lives by providing opportunities for them to reflect on, analyse and improve their own performance.
• To ensure that teachers can respond professionally to economic, social, cultural, technological and scientific change through the development of personal and intellectual qualities.

The primary responsibility is to provide support for technology-enhanced teaching and learning.

6.1. Educational broadcasting 

The Radio Division is mandated to supplement and enrich the school curriculum through interactive and entertaining radio programmes that cover formal (curriculum based) and out of school learners. The programmes are broadcast on Radio Botswana and shared as digital copies with schools.


Educational Television is mandated to produce content that supplements and enriches the school curriculum.  The video lessons cover formal and informal education. The lessons are broadcast on Botswana Television and shared as digital copies with schools.

6.2. ICT Integration

To facilitate and promote the integration of technology into teaching and learning environments the department is responsible for:


• Coordinating the provision of ICT equipment for teaching and learning.
• ICT teacher professional development, capacity building and change management training for managers and educators.
• Coordination of private and public partnerships that support ICT integrated teaching and learning.
• Provision of educational e-content.
• Monitoring of utilisation of educational solutions.
• Development, management and coordination of the Education Management Information System (EMIS) to facilitate ICT integrated education.
 

6.3. Special Needs Materials Production.

The Department implements and create access to education for Special Educational needs learners. This is achieved through;

• Production and delivery of learning and teaching materials for learners with special needs
• Recommending and supporting the use of assistive devices and technology, training and technical support to special needs learners
• Playing an advisory role on issues relating to special education in the ministry and other government entities
• Supporting and facilitating capacity building amongst learners and teachers on ICT Integration within special needs

The Department of Learner Support Services (DLSS) develops policies and strategies that guide the implementation of Learner programmes in order to support  education and training; and the holistic development of all learners. The department houses two units Guidance and Counselling and Special Education being:

7.1. Special Eduaction Services

• Review and deliver Policies, Guidelines & Programmes for learner support (all levels)-Inclusive Education
• Policy, Special Education Policy.
• Operationalization  of the Maun Centre for Special Education
• Screening and Identification of Learners suspected to have special educational needs
• Diagnostic Assessment Services 
• Educational Placement Services for LSEND
• Rehabilitation, Remediation and Enrichment programmes 
• Support curriculum adaptation and modifications
• Individualised Educational and Support Plans (IESP) 
• Specialised Support Personnel e.g. teacher aides, scribers, readers
• Access Arrangements during testing and examinations 
• Provision of assistive and adaptive devices

7.2. Guidance & Counselling Services

• Review and deliver Policies, Guidelines & Programmes for learner support (all levels)-Guidance Policy
• Psychosocial support programs
• Capacity building in specialized educational programs for Guidance and Counselling Teachers, subject teachers and Support Staff. 
• Learner Profiling 
• Counselling supervision 
• Counselling Referral services 
• Trauma and Crisis intervention/ management 
• Emotional Intelligence facilitation 
• Development of Guidance and Counselling programs 
• Career Guidance and Counselling services 
• Partnerships with Stakeholders
• Substance use prevention
• Education Plus programme
• Connect with respect
• Life skills programme

The Department of Teaching Service Administration is responsible for interpretation of policies, facilitating implementation of human resource management policies, provide coordination and leadership on provision of management and equitable deployment of an adequate number and competent human resource.

Teaching Service Administration executes its mandate through the following functions:

• Recruitment & Placement
• Compensation & Benefits
• Training
• Employee Relations
• Manpower Unit
• Records
• Accounts
• Procurement

The Department of Technical Services (DTS) provides technical support of provision of infrastructure and facilities. Facilitate timely building, completion, and maintenance of all education facilities required for the smooth operations of institutions.

Functions

• Coordinates construction of on-going education facilities
• Monitors compliance to specifications, quality and standards of construction.

Key services/initiatives

• Maintenance of junior secondary school infrastructure including water tanks and sewage connection and waste management. 
Construction and expansion of junior secondary schools around the country.
• Solar electrification of primary schools

The Ministry has ten Regional Offices across the country. These offices manage schools and Brigades under their jurisdiction. The Ministry has decentralised the running of institutions through these Regional Offices such that every educational institution is catered for by its Regional Office. The Regional Offices are headed by Directors.