Abstract
Botswana’s education system, like many other African systems, is greatly influenced by western educational ideas and models. This article reviews Botswana’s education system by examining the policies, models and ideas that have influenced its development. Specifically, the review involves tracing the development of the education system of Botswana from the pre-colonial era to the present and highlighting the educational ideas and models in use at each stage. Since most of the educational ideas are based on western models, the article seeks whatever Platonic underpinnings that might belie these ideas. This is because Plato is considered to be one of the greatest thinkers of all time whose ideas on education are pervasive. His ideas have influenced western education systems as well as modern intellectual and educational thinking.
The need to review Botswana’s education system
Botswana’s education system has gone through many transformations over the years. These transformations have been a response to the changing social and economic status of the country as well as the country’s attempt to keep up with global and new trends. Though previous articles (for example, Bagwasi, 2016; Kamwendo, 2008; Meyer et al., 1993; Tabulawa, 2007) have reviewed Botswana’s education policy, this article presents a more holistic and critical picture of the transformations in the Botswana education system than the previous articles. Such a review of Botswana’s education system is necessary not only to ascertain the relevance of the system to its citizenry but also to determine the degree to which it has been informed and shaped by local and global issues.
Since most of the educational ideas that have shaped Botswana’s education system are western based, the article also seeks whatever Platonic underpinnings that might belie these ideas. This is because Plato’s educational ideas are considered to be pervasive. These Platonic underpinnings are gleaned from his famous writing, The Republic, which presents a well-argued dogma of education for a model state and citizen of Sparta and Athens. Though Plato’s philosophy of education reflects 4th-century Greek laws and thinking, it is perceived as both the root of western education and a source of inspiration for dynamism in education worldwide. He is also credited for being the first to divide education into the formal levels involving appropriate ages and curricula contents which are commonly used in the West (Akinpelu, 1981). However, the questions and issues that he raises (about aim, content, relevance and funding of education) are the same ones that modern states all over the world are still grappling with.
The utilization of Plato’s philosophy of education in a review of Botswana education policy supports Tesar’s (2016a: 594) view that policy and philosophy are intricately connected and that philosophy connects theory and practice. Tesar (2016b: 312) recommended that we ‘think policy through a philosophical lens and consider philosophy as a grounding and often missing element of policing’. Philosophy of education comprises three elements: the metaphysical (the nature of being, reality and existence); the epistemological (the nature of knowledge and how we come to know something); and the axiological (ethics or values that society has to evaluate, follow and live by). These elements form the basis of every education policy.
There is, however, no attempt by this article to describe Botswana’s education system as a Platonic model; Plato’s educational ideas are simply brought in here because of their timelessness, pervasiveness and influence on education in the West and many other parts of the world. There is also no attempt by the article to make a comprehensive review of Plato’s philosophy of education or The Republic. The article simply picks on only those issues raised by Plato in The Republic that are relevant to the argument of this article.
A review of Botswana’s educational system is timely because of the growing dissatisfaction and criticism of the country’s education system. There exist negative beliefs that the quality of education in Botswana is poor. It is not relevant, and it fails to empower learners to read widely, calculate, think critically, solve problems and create new ideas (Botswana Government, 1977: 1). There is also a concern that education in Botswana is not changing quickly enough to keep up with the fast-paced economic growth of the country. Botswana’s government (1977: 77) stated that: [e]ducation in Botswana may have grown much but it has changed little. Society and economy have evolved in new directions making fresh demands in terms of attitudes, skills and abilities but the education system has been slow to respond, and at times has actually seemed to be obstructing progressive development in other spheres of national life in Botswana.
Botswana’s education system: Pre-colonial era
The history of education in Botswana starts in the pre-colonial era, in the 18th and 19th centuries, before the advent of western education in Africa. At this time, Batswana lived in isolated, warring ethnic groups whose livelihoods depended on subsistence-level cattle rearing and dry land agriculture. Each ethnic group lived under the guardianship and leadership of a chief. The chief, his counsel of uncles and senior members of the ethnic group, ensured that the ethnic group had enough land and food and was secure from foreign invasion. There were no manufacturing industries or formal jobs of any kind, and the work force consisted of all able-bodied adults who could plough, look after livestock or hunt. Whilst both men and women were responsible for building their homesteads, all able-bodied men were required to serve in the militia, which, when the need arose, had to protect the ethnic group from attacks by other groups. Meyer et al. (1993) contended that this kind of life and its work and life patterns were not, in the view of the people, considered forms of unemployment; periods of inactivity were normal and acceptable.
During this time, education was mostly informal and acquired from family and initiation schools. These schools centred on training the initiates to become disciplined, productive and responsible adults in their communities. The role of initiation schools in the development of education in Botswana has been recognized by many anthropologists. Mosothwane (2001: 144), for example, argued that these schools were an important part of Setswana customs (customs native to Botswana) and were a means of ordering the society, training and providing labour and security for the community. Further, in these schools, initiates (that is, those who were initiated) were introduced to adulthood by their seniors who taught them tribal laws, fighting and hunting skills, initiation songs and craft making. Mosothwane (2001: 146) argued that: The ultimate goal of initiation was not so much to make a more knowledgeable person of the initiate, even though this may be greatly desired, but it was to transform him, make him different from what he had been and separate him from his childhood existence.
The coming to Bechuanaland (as Botswana was called before independence) by Europeans and their concept of western civilization led to the decline and closure of initiation schools. The British officials who administered the country as well as the missionaries whose aim was to convert Botswana to Christianity considered the schools barbaric, cruel and unhygienic. They called for the replacement of these schools by western education systems. Despite all their faults, which included severe punishment and endurance of harsh conditions by the initiates, the Bechuanaland initiation schools were better placed to respond directly to the needs of their communities because they taught their initiates culture-specific skills for food production, hunting, fighting and family. They also taught the initiates the history, songs and dance of their communities. Though Plato’s model of education had no room for informal education, he emphasized that education ought to be relevant, match the way of life of the people as well as enhance already existing or indigenous knowledge. He stated that ‘you amuse me with your obvious fear that the public will disapprove if the subjects you prescribe don’t seem useful’ (Plato, 1955: 335). Thus, Plato’s model emphasized that education ought to be relevant and useful to the people using it.
Botswana’s education system: Colonial era
The criticism of the initiation schools led to the passing of a proclamation to prohibit them in Bechuanaland in December 1917 (Mosothwane, 2001: 147). This paved the way for their replacement with Christian and western schools. For the 81 years that Botswana was a British protectorate, education was mostly in the hands of the missionaries and the local authorities who offered religious or secular education aimed at producing converts who would be proficient in reading the Bible. More rounded education was introduced by the British in the 1900s, though their investment in the education of Bechuanaland was minimal (see Mgadla 2003). Their system offered such subjects as English, history, geography, carpentry and sewing. The replacement of initiation schools in Botswana in a way supports Plato’s view of informal education which he found to play no significant role in the education of an individual. However, the offering of foreign subjects contravenes his view of relevant subjects.
Nyerere (1967) criticized the use of foreign and western systems in African colonies. He argued that the system did not aim at the development of the colonized countries but rather at serving the colonial interests of the homeland, and inculcated their values and prepared African students for the service of the colonizer not the African state. British rule lasted from 1885 to 1966 when Botswana achieved its independence and an opportunity to revise its education system.
Botswana’s education system: Post-colonial
After gaining independence, many African countries sought education systems and philosophies that they thought best fitted their national aspirations and ideals. Tanzania, for example, adopted self-reliance as the country’s philosophy of education. According to Nasongo and Musungu (2009), the philosophy of self- reliance was a reaction against the colonial construction of social reality. It attempted to conceptualize the Tanzanian educational agenda and knowledge system, premising it on principles of socialism and egalitarianism. It also emphasized communication through a national language, Swahili, which reflected friendship, freedom and justice. Swahili became the medium of instruction in the low primary while English was taught as a subject. In high primary, English became the medium of instruction whilst Swahili was taught as a subject.
However, many educational reforms that new African states proposed did not bring much change. Instead, they perpetuated western influence on these states. This is because at independence, many African states were poor and ‘had extreme shortages of skilled and educated local workers in almost all skilled jobs’ (Colclough, 1976: 129). Janson and Tsonope (1991) pointed out that at independence, in 1966, Botswana did not even have enough fully qualified people to take on the administration of the state. But given the haste to alleviate the shortage of educated manpower in the country, subjects, programmes and even teachers in many educational institutions were simply imported from already established institutions in the West and used in local schools with little to no modifications to suit local circumstances. This education system was not suitable and needed to be reviewed.
The first commission on education
Ten or so years after independence, Botswana had an opportunity, through its first National Commission on Education, which was commissioned in 1975, to assess the education system in use and come up with a more suitable system for the country. The government saw this Commission as an opportunity for the country ‘to assess itself, reassert its national identity while taking advantage of imported ideas that have benefited the country’ (Botswana Government, 1977: 11). Indeed, when announcing the government’s intention to form its first National Commission on Education, the Minister of Education told Parliament that ‘he hoped to see the report of the Commission as a reflection of the nation’s thinking and therefore a summary of the nation’s aspiration’ (Botswana Government, 1977: 4).
But after weighing all the factors, the Commission, not surprisingly, recommended continued use of the British system. Further, the Commission recognized the positive role of informal education, clearly stating that learning sometimes best takes place outside the classroom (Botswana Government, 1977: 107). However, though the Commission acknowledged the role of informal education that is obtainable from family, community and initiation schools, the reality is that the role of agents of informal education has declined dramatically over the years. The modern school has taken over all aspects of education. Family and community no longer feel responsible for teaching such skills as morality, sexual behaviour, proper conduct, language or dance to young people because it is believed that the school system is responsible for the whole education of the learner. Meyer et al. (1993: 560) shared the same observation: Schools do all the socializing and thus opening the door to an enormous amount of educational expansion and modernization. So the schools are assigned the task of including culture and tradition in the national curricula and teacher training programs. The curriculum incorporates traditions, language, cultural diversity, history and Tswana values.
This emphasis and burden on formal education to produce a fully grounded individual that we see in Botswana’s education system, in a lot of ways reflects Plato’s idea of education. Plato’s ideal state had no room for an individual and family life. The model of education that he proposed was set out to, on its own, develop man’s intelligence, socialization, understanding and spiritual upliftment. Plato viewed formal education not just as preparation for work but also as a process of development and enrichment that is essential everywhere. Critics of Plato argue that not everybody needs formal education in order to contribute meaningfully to society. Individuals can make meaningful contributions to their society using skills and knowledge obtained from personal talents, family experiences, observation, home, society and initiation schools where children are taught social skills and given indigenous knowledge about their local environment, animals, plants, folk tales and history (see Nyerere 1967).
Though many believe that the type of education recommended by the 1977 Commission was British, Meyer et al. (1993: 464) disagreed. They argued that: The Commission sharply moved away from a Botswana educational tradition (initially mainly religious and later British and secular) that emphasized elite education in a diffuse way. The Commission took for granted that Botswana is to develop in modern ways and defined education as a crucial factor in development. No positive alternative is considered.
Plato too favoured state funding of education. Many Greeks were not educated during Plato’s time because education was not provided by the state; it was a matter for private individuals. Plato was concerned that many Greeks (Athenians) who ended up serving in important positions had no education and that poor families could not afford to send their children to school. He therefore proposed that the state should control and pay for education because ‘anything of such crucial importance cannot be left to private initiative’ (Plato, 1955: 38). Plato strongly condemned the practice of buying and selling knowledge by way of paying school fees and having private schools. He believed in a state-controlled education system which would ensure a quality education would be available to all children, regardless of the socio-economic status of their families. In a similar way, the government of Botswana did not want to support private schools, arguing that: [i]n the case of English medium primary schools, the commission feels strongly that public support of an elite form of education for a favoured few is inequitable and contrary to the national principle of unity. Provision of public bursaries to such schools should be ended. (Botswana Government, 1994: 20)
Beyond the expansion of education, the Commission also sought to design an education programme that could, first, unite the different ethnic groups that existed independently of each other (nation building) and, second, improve the human and physical development of the country.
In its effort to achieve nation building, the government identified Setswana, the dominant language in the country, as the national language to be used to unify the ethnically and linguistically heterogeneous country. It was felt that Setswana was an essential means of communication amongst Batswana and was the medium through which a great deal of the national culture would be expressed. The government felt that education and the curriculum should be used to develop this sense of national unity and identity (Botswana Government, 1977: 31). The proclamation of Setswana as the language of unity and national identity, and the commitment to promote it as thus, is made evident in the first National Commission on Education that came under the banner Education for Kagisano (Education for social harmony). As its name suggests, the Commission aimed at coming up with an education policy that would facilitate nation building and unity. This education policy was based on four principles: democracy (giving each person a voice and chance to participate); development (turning out productive citizens and creating new opportunities for employment); self-reliance (freeing the country from dependence on expatriates and from the instability in staffing and loss of experience); and unity (loyalty, cooperation and a sense of national identity). These principles, it was believed, would work together to produce the national philosophy of kagisano (social harmony), which embraces social justice, interdependence and mutual assistance (Botswana Government, 1977: 24). Thus, the policy recommended that: [t]he national language, Setswana, must be mastered by all and be used as a medium of communication for the first four years of primary school … Setswana should be given more time in the school timetable and should have the same status as English as a subject in the primary leaving examination and in the selection process for secondary school. (Botswana Government, 1977: 77)
The second commission on education
The second national commission on education, known as The Revised National Policy on Education that came in 1992, was set to identify the strengths and weaknesses of the first education policy. At this time, Botswana society and the economy were growing rapidly, creating many modern sector posts for middle and upper level manpower. There was therefore a need for qualified personnel for these posts. So, the second commission recommended continued expansion of education but with a focus on the higher levels of education in order to meet the pressing need for qualified manpower. Tabulawa (2007: 460) stated that the expansion of education should not be understood narrowly as an expansion of students and institutions. It should also be understood in terms of a growing heterogeneity of students and diverse education programmes. For example, there was to be an increase in the number and type of disciplines which were driven by both personal and societal needs as well as local and international forces. In order to meet these ever growing and diverse needs, a lot more subjects (accounting, agriculture, business, computer literacy, chemistry, physics, biology, English, geography, Setswana, French, social studies, moral education, physical education, history, design and technology) were offered in the new primary and secondary school curriculum. The Revised National Policy on Education argued that ‘in order to enhance the employability and capacity for further training of school leavers, the goals and content of [the] programme should be revised to emphasize pre-vocational preparation’ (Botswana Government, 1994: 8). Tesar and Arndt (2017: 665) too acknowledge the struggle by policy makers across the world to make the education experience complex by creating space for multiple experiences of diverse cultural knowledges and lived educational experiences.
English also became a requirement for entry into all the higher levels of education and top posts. This recognition of the role of English in education and the job place is realized in the recommendations of the 1994 Revised National Policy on Education in which the use of Setswana in schools was reduced and the use of English increased. This policy recommended that ‘with respect to the teaching of languages in primary school, English should be used as the medium of instruction from Standard 2 or as soon as practical’ (Botswana Government, 1994: 59). The Commission claimed that the basis for the shift was the poor performance of primary school children in English due to the fact that they did not become familiar with it early enough in the learning process (Botswana Government, 1994: 60). However, some observers (see Bagwasi 2016) felt that the reason for the shift and increase in the use of English in schools was a response to the high demand for the English language by the rapidly growing westernized job market in Botswana.
The Botswana education system is focused on preparing learners for the world of work and to produce efficient, skilful and trained manpower for modern sector jobs. Those learners who do well in school are rewarded with high grades that qualify them to move to the next level of education until they ultimately attain the highest educational qualifications that enable them to serve as experts in their different fields of work. High educational qualifications are sought for top positions in different professions such as teaching, engineering, medicine or law. However, politicians who are law makers have deliberately set low educational requirements for themselves. Thus, many politicians in Botswana have low educational attainments. There is a belief that high levels of formal education are only essential for the production of goods and services but not for developing cultivated intelligence and the sound character that is needed in political leadership.
This is a departure from Plato who strongly believed that education obtained from school should be used as a major determinant in whether an individual ends up as a craftsman or as statesman. His model of education was primarily intended to produce the ‘philosopher ruler’ who, ‘if they can be educated rightly, and given power, the details of administration can be safely left in their hands’ (Plato, 1955: 32). Plato placed a lot of emphasis on educating and training the rulers and leaving the less talented and educated to assume other positions in society. This article finds Plato’s insistence on educated rulers germane for modern day states that are characterized by sophisticated technology, industrialization and trade relations. Well-educated and informed rulers would be in a better position to guide their nations in such situations than those who are not educated. However, Plato’s view cannot be adopted without modification because it raises questions as to whether it is realistic to teach an individual to become a leader. There are also fears that Plato’s view is based on a myth that people who do well in their studies will also do well in everything. Some educationists feel that ‘it is as much a mistake to overvalue book learning as it is to undervalue it’ (Akinpelu, 1981: 121).
Current: Implications and further reforms of the first and second education policies
The educational policies and reforms discussed here have no doubt caused a rapid growth in the education system in Botswana. This growth is evident not only in terms of increased enrolments, institutions, programmes and disciplines but also in terms of the mandate of education. Meyer et al. (1993: 560) observed that: [b]esides the maintenance of tradition, Botswana schools are mandated to solve new social problems such as teenage pregnancy, HIV/AIDS, crime, family disorganization and unemployment. There are expectations that education should train students to create their own jobs as well as the education system itself engaging in job creation schemes.
Though there are not enough modern sector jobs in the towns for school leavers, they do not want to go back to the village and its traditional lifestyle because the educational system has alienated them from that culture. It has equipped them with foreign knowledge, skills and values that have no place in the traditional settings. Nyerere (1968: 276) viewed western education in Africa as ‘being separate and not part of the society, as a place that children go to and which they and their parents hope will make it unnecessary for them to become farmers and continue living in the village’. A relevant education system is one that illuminates local knowledge, values and problems, that improves the lives of individuals in their communities, not make them run away from their communities. Akinpelu (1981: 141) too agreed that ‘the school should be an extension of the home so that the experience of the child both at school and in the home can be related and continuous and the developed qualities of the learners should develop his society’.
Plato’s likening the process of education to that of turning the eye of the soul from darkness to light in a way supports the use of local and existing content as a basis for learning. He argued that: [i]n all that he does, the educator should remember that his aim is not to put into the mind knowledge that was not there before – though he may do that within limits – but to turn the mind’s eye to the light so that it can see for itself. So, the educator is not to stick thoughts into his pupils’ heads but to make them think for themselves. (Plato, 1955: 322)
The perception that formal education is at the root of all the social goals and problems and therefore a crucial ingredient of every aspect of life, is also problematic. It has not only burdened the education system with many responsibilities but has also made it in need of constant reform in order to keep up with ever changing life situations. For example, there have been changes in the curriculum to include subjects that are believed to be needed by the current job market; there has been a replacement of traditional teacher-centred teaching methods such as lecture and recitation with outcome-based and American child-centred methods. There has also been a change in the model of funding education. The government of Botswana has drastically reduced sponsorships for humanities, social sciences and education programmes at tertiary level since the mid-2000s. There is now an emphasis on the so-called STEM programmes (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) for which the government is offering full scholarships. The reason for this shift is the belief that science, technology and mathematics are keys to development and job creativity. This view is shared by decision makers at the World Bank who see these subjects as key facets of development (see Singh 2010). Though Plato valued the sciences more than the arts, he recognized the value of each discipline. He argued ‘that there is a faculty in the mind of each of us which these studies purify or rekindle after it has been ruined and blinded by other pursuits’ (Plato, 1955: 335). He also argued that arts subjects complement other subjects because: [a] man who takes a lot of strenuous physical exercise and lives well but has little acquaintance with literature or philosophy (no intelligent interest) will have the physical health that fills him with confidence, energy and courage but will become an unintelligent Philistine with no use for reasoned discussion, and an animal addiction to settle everything by brute force. (Plato, 1955: 176)
Meyer et al. (1993: 455) have further observed that ‘despite its peripheral character and relative newness among world’s states, Botswana has to a surprising extent, rapidly implemented modern educational policies taken directly from the metropolitan centres’. According to Meyer et al. (1993: 466), this is partly because Botswana has had close relations with supportive international bodies, many of which have provided educational advice, funding and personnel for the rapid educational reforms. Meyer et al. (1993: 466) have identified the following as having been involved in the development of Botswana’s education system: many American, European and international agencies including the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the British Overseas Development Agency (ODA), the Australian International Development Assistance Bureau, the World Bank and the United Nations. Expertise and funding from these foreign bodies have greatly influenced the reforms.
However, Meyer et al. (1993: 467) contend that this pervasive external influence should not be seen as domination or hegemony, but rather it is Botswana’s local and national constituencies that seek the institutionalization of a model of education and society that is analogous to that obtaining in the core, as well as external resources to provide the technology to produce this model. It seems that Botswana are highly involved in the pursuit of progress as measured not by local, but by world standards. This is indicative of an over dependence on foreign and western solutions. However, mimicking developed and western educational models will not help Botswana, given its economic and social status which are not comparable to the West’s.
There is also a perception that education in Botswana should aim for international job markets, that the excess modern sector manpower will, through globalization, be absolved by the global job market. But globalization is a fallacy because, through it, many countries hope to offload and share out their excess manpower to other countries whilst guarding their boundaries to keep away outsiders. Globalization is supposed to allow free exchange and movement of people, goods and services. Lately, however, we see many countries, especially in the West, coming up with stringent immigration and labour policies that are meant to protect local jobs and keep away foreigners.
Conclusion
This article has shown the different stages, policies, educational models and ideas that Botswana’s education system has gone through during the course of its development. Though these reforms have helped the education system to grow exponentially in terms of student enrolments, institutions, disciplines and mandates, they do not correspond to and match the way of life in Botswana. The education system has not responded appropriately to local needs because of its mimicry of educational ideas and solutions designed by the West. Whilst the focus of the education policy should be Botswana’s knowledge, realities and problems, there is a need to draw from the past and the present, the local and the abroad. Arndt and Tesar (2018: 235) argued that: [p]olicy must deal with the uncertainties arising out of the divergences in societal and political realms. It must pick up on contemporary shifts and changes and insert them in meaningful ways into previous habits, thinking, practices and pedagogies, in a mosaic of pasts, presents and futures.
Further, the article has identified some Platonic underpinnings (such as an emphasis on formal education and government funding) in the educational models and ideas used in Botswana’s education system. It suggests that educational problems, identified by Plato in The Republic in the 4th century in Greece, are present in Botswana and that Plato’s ideas on education are indeed pervasive and widespread.
Footnotes
Declaration of conflicting interests
The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.
Funding
The author(s) received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.