Ministry of Child Welfare and Basic Education

1.

Department of Child Welfare

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.

Children's Act of 2009  CAO P28;04 defines a child as any person below the age of 18 years.

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.

Department of Curriculum Development and Evaluation (CDE) is responsible for development, evaluation, and provision of support materials for general education curriculum programmes.

Scope: Pre-primary, Primary, Junior Secondary, Senior Secondary, Special Education and Out of School Education and Training.

Functions

Policy interpretation, operationalisation and implementation

• Curriculum Planning, Design, Development and Review
• Curriculum Research, Monitoring and Evaluation
• Curriculum Support Material Development and Provision
• Departmental Management
• E-Learning Programme Development

Department units

3.1. Pre-Primary and Primary Education

Development, evaluation, and provision of support materials for pre-primary (Early Childhood Care and Education) and primary education programmes.

Functions:

• Policy interpretation, operationalisation, and implementation.
• Plan, design, development, and review of early childhood development curriculum. (0 - 6 years) and primary education curriculum for both private and public schools. 
• Curriculum support material development and provision.
• Preparation for the next level of education. 
   

3.2. Special Education, Out-of-School Education and Training (OSET)

Provision of special education programmes for general education and non-formal education and training for the out-of-school population.

Scope

1. Special Educational Needs (SEN): Regular curriculum (Pre-primary to Senior secondary) and functional curriculum (Foundational/ Stimulation, Intermediate, Prevocational, Vocational Levels).
2. OSET: Adult Basic Education Programme (ABEP) for marginalised adults; Out of School Education for Children (OSEC) programme for out-of-school children who are not in the formal school system (Primary Education level); Skills Development and Training Programme (SDTP) for ABEP and OSEC.

Functions:

• Policy interpretation, operationalisation, and implementation.
• Planning, design, development, and review of ABEP, OSEC and SDTP curriculum.
• Adaptation and Modification of regular curriculum and development of functional curriculum.
• Curriculum support material development and provision.
• Preparation for the next level of education. 
   

3.3. Secondary Education - STEM, Social Sciences

Development, evaluation, and provision of support materials for secondary education programmes.

Scope: Junior Secondary and Senior Secondary (STEM, Social Sciences).

Functions:

• Policy interpretation, operationalisation, and implementation.
• Planning, design, development, and review of secondary schools’ curriculum.
• Curriculum support material development and provision.
• Preparation for the next level of education.

3.4. Secondary Education - Pre-Vocational & Humanities

Development, evaluation, and provision of support materials for secondary education programmes.

Scope: Junior Secondary and Senior Secondary (Pre-Vocational, Humanities).

Functions:

• Policy interpretation, operationalisation, and implementation.
• Planning, design, development, and review of secondary schools’ curriculum.
• Curriculum support material development and provision.
• Preparation for the next level of education.

3.5. Curriculum Support

Research, develop, monitor and evaluate the curriculum, and provision of learning support materials.

Scope: Monitoring and Evaluation, ECCI/Environmental Education, Learning support material development, Educational Publications as well as Media & Production.

• Conduct curriculum research, monitoring, and evaluation.
• Integration and infusion of ECCI in the curriculum.
• Provision of support and supplement materials for all levels of general education. 
• Develop e learning content for both learners and teachers.

Provide quality information for informed educational planning and decision making through education statistics, research and monitoring and evaluation.

Department units

4.1. Education Management Information System (EMIS) Unit
Mandate: Coordinate and manage educational information and statistics (enrolments, 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, analyse and produce summary reports (Stats Briefs) and Annual reports.
• Provide data on indicators for national, regional and international use.

4.2. Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) 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.

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

Functions:

• Prioritize and oversee conduction of educational research.
• Review 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 Basic Education exists to design, develop, interprets, facilitate
implementation, monitor and evaluate education policies to ensure prompt delivery
of quality education for learners at pre-primary, primary, Out of School 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.

Key functions

• Resource mobilisation.
• Promote partnerships/stakeholder involvement.
• Student involvement, character building, discipline and student welfare.
• Students admissions.
• Teacher welfare.
• Oversee development and maintenance projects
• Liaison with sister Departments/ Ministry and other Partners

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)

  It is a programme offered to  formal school education system drop outs, candidates aged 4 and half to 18 years. This includes children with socio-economic factors, demographic challenges, or  have been denied access to education due to their cultural background.

• Adult Basic Education (ABEP)

  The programme offers Primary School Leaving Examinations (PSLE) equivalence to any person young and old, man or woman who could not complete standard seven can take up ABEP lessons and better their lives, either illiterate or semi-illiterate aged 19 years and above.

• Skills Development and Training
 

  The programs serves as a vehicle to poverty eradication through the provision of requisite vocational and entrepreneurial skills to the out of school population (Those who have been enrolled in ABEP and OSEC).

5.5. Inspectorate 

As a quality assurance arm of the Ministry, the division exist to develop educational standards; monitor compliance to the implementation of education standards, policies, programs and Statutory Acts for public and private schools through school inspections.

• Development of education standards to improve the quality of teaching and learning.
• Monitoring compliance to teaching and learning standards.
• Promote institutional quality assurance through self evaluation.
• Capacitation of school Inspectors on inspection processes.
• Liaison with regulatory bodies such as BQA and BOTEPCO to maintain consistency with best practices.
• Conduct research to inform policy and practice.

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.

Support technology teaching and learning through the use of ICTs.

Key responsibilities

1. Provide professional development in educational technology and media (ThutoNet Capacity Building).
    

• Educational technology in-service training.
• Network all educational technology in-service providers to ensure comprehensive collaborative educational technology professional developments.
• Coordinate educational technology in-service programmes and projects.
• Monitor and evaluate all educational media in-service programmes and projects.
• Research and Development.

2. Coordinate School ICT infrastructure Development (ThutoNet eSchools).
    

• Manage educational ICT equipment/ devices.
• Facilitate provision of ICT tools and Resources.
   

3. Provide and Manage Education Management Information Systems (EMIS) and other electronic educational platforms including Learning management Systems (LMS) and (ThutoNet ePlatforms).
    

• Research and development of Information and Learning management System.
   

4. Develop, broadcast and make available multimedia educational content. (Educational Radio and Television).
    

• Content needs assessment.
• Production and Broadcast- Radio/ Educational Television.
   

5. Support the teaching and learning of Special Needs Learners (Special Needs Material Production Division).
    

• Need assessment.
• Development of Assistive technology.
• Improve accessibility.
• Provision of alternative accessible formats to all learners with SEN and to facilitate provision of and capacity building on assistive technologies.
   

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 learners.

Functions

• Support and promote efficiency of SEND support programs and services.
• Coordinate stakeholder and partnership programmes at national level.
• Facilitate capacity building(In-service training)in specialised educational.
  programmes to support teaching and learning Advocacy and Public Education.
• DLSS mandate has been decentralized to districts.
• Design, plan, develop, monitor and evaluate Learner Support Policies, Policy
  Guidelines and Programs.
• Facilitate provision of responsive balanced and inclusive education to all
  learners.
• Support and promote efficacy of learner support programs and services
• Provide diagnostic assessments, placement and support for learners with
  diverse needs.
• Support and promote implementation of Learner support programs and
  services.

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 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.