The Minister of Basic Education Fidelis Molao has fallen short of informing teachers and by extension the nation that they should brace for a looming examination crisis.
This emerges in a letter in which he addressed to the secretary general of Botswana Sector of Educators Trade Union (BOSETU) Tobokani Rari.
In it which he conceded that he was unable “to give direction.” It emerges from Molao’s letter that teacher trade unions had sought a meeting with relevant authorities from his ministry in an effort to negotiate for an increment in rates or allowances for coursework and moderation.
Education authorities led by the ministry’s Permanent Secretary Bridget John are said to have sought Molao’s intervention as they could not reach an amicable solution with representatives from teacher trade unions.
The result is that Molao wrote the letter to Rari acknowledging the unions’ meeting with education and also sharing his position on the matter.
“There is a mutual understanding between Ministry of Basic Education and BOSETU that indeed all work that is related to external examinations fall within the mandate of Botswana Examination Council,” he said.
A standoff has ensued between the Ministry and the Botswana Examination Council (BEC). Trade unions are digging their heels as they are bolstered by Justice Godfrey Nthomiwa’s judgement which stated that teachers should be paid separately for coursework and moderation.
BEC insists that it is not its mandate to negotiate for increment of rates as it is not the employer. While Molao concedes that the ministry should have long resolved the issue and enforced the judgement, he insists that he is ‘unable to give direction’ going forward.
BOSETU and BTU have since instructed teachers to suspend marking of coursework and conducting moderation.
“In view of the foregoing, the two Teacher Trade unions, BOSETU & BTU, would like appeal to members to, with immediate effect, suspend the carrying out of any coursework and moderation related tasks until such a time that the impasse between the Teachers Trade Unions and BEC over the 2021/22 coursework and moderation rates would have been resolved,” they said.
Molao noted that, “It goes without saying that this possibility emanates from and were guided by provision of the law, primarily being that teachers are employees of Basic Education.”
He explained that the above provision of the Act cannot be applied without adding pertinent question of whether Botswana Examination Council is bound to recognize teacher unions even though teachers engaged are not employees of the BEC.
“Further I take cognizance of the of the fact that an ‘employee’ has been adequately defined in the Trade Unions and Employers Organisation Act and the definition does not define the relationship between teachers and BEC to satisfy any of the requirements for recognition of trade unions,” said Molao.
He stated that the agreement that existed between the Ministry and yourself relating to rates increment is not transferrable.
This is agreement he said, was informed by the circumstances that existed at the time it was made. It remained relevant due to the fact that teachers are employees of the Ministry and further that the statute made it possible.
“This I think is the main reason that have hindered the Permanent Secretary and BEC to make any undertaking to yourself that the agreement can bind BEC, and independent entity, or that it will be transferred to BEC during the transition,” said Molao.
According to the unions, in 2009, Justice Nthomiwa of the High Court of Botswana delivered a judgement in a case between BOSETU and the then Ministry of Education and Skills Development (MESD). They said the judgement confirmed that all work that is related to external examination falls within the ambit of the Botswana Examinations Council (BEC), and consequently such work is NOT part of the duties of teachers.
They explained that following the judgement, the then Ministry of Education and skills Development (MESD) in 2012, agreed with the teacher Trade unions to remunerate teachers for the BEC mandate that takes place within school campuses, and further undertook to annually negotiate with Teacher Trade unions on matters of coursework and moderation rates and their conditions.
Consequently, the unions said they have enjoyed the right to annually bargain and negotiate coursework and moderation rates and their conditions with the Ministry of Basic Education (MoBE) for almost eight years since 2012.
