The Botswana Examinations Council (BEC) says the current Junior Certificate (JC) results are more or less the same as the previous academic year with only slight differences.
BEC Public Relations Manager, Charles Keikotlhae, said that there is more merit this year than in the previous year, adding that the students’ performance is more or less the same, but with a small gap of a difference. He stated that 206 public school centres conducted the examinations.
He revealed that in 2010, 39 374 wrote the JC examinations while the previous year of 2009, 40180 wrote the examinations.
According to Keikotlhae, 29,400 candidates obtained a Merit to Grade C in 2010, a total of 29,385 candidates did so in 2011, marking a decrease of 15 candidates. He said the results were released just before Christmas on December 23 and are available at schools and on the Internet.
“Mathematics and integrated science have the highest proportion of candidates awarded grade A,” said Keikotlhae.
He further stated that the number of school candidates who met the requirements of the 2011 exams increased by 357 from 36,933 in 2010 while the number of private candidates decreased by 407 from 2,491 in 2010.
He said that there were 19,211 male candidates and 20,163 female candidates. He also observed that the results are exceptionally good for a year of the worst disturbances in public education in Botswana.
According to Keikotlhae, at 5.2 percent, Mathematics has the highest proportion of candidates awarded Grade A, followed by Integrated Science with 4.5 percent. He added that less than 30 percent of candidates obtained Grade C or better in all subjects, adding that it also shows that less than 30 percent of candidates obtained Grade C or better in practical subjects.
Meanwhile, Keikotlhae said the Botswana General Certificate of Secondary Education (BGCSE) results are expected next mid next month, in February, but did not mention the exact date.
He further stated that the examinations have been marked, as well as graded. He said they will soon be taken to the University of Cambridge in Britain for assessment and later be brought back.
“The Minister of Education Skills and Development will finally look at the results before we publicly publish and hopefully it will be in the first weeks of February,” said Keikotlhae.
Some parents, students and also teachers who were marking Form Three and Form Five examination papers anticipated for the worst examinations results in years after the industrial action by teachers and other civil servants last year.
