06 Apr 2025

Maun West MP, Mr Caterpillar Hikuama has said teachers invest a lot of their time and effort working extra-curricular activities including schools sport, organising social clubs, marking and preparation, and deserve to be remunerated more than what they currently earn.

Presenting a motion before Parliament recently for government to introduce a 26-day month pay model for teachers in Botswana public schools, Mr Hikuama said the peculiarity of teachers’ work in shaping the minds of the next generation needed to be recognised.

He said while the Public Service Act currently provided for civil servants to be paid for a standard 22-day monthly wage, which amounted to five working days per week, the nature of work teachers were occupied with forced them to work extra hours, and this should be recognised through a 26-day per month pay structure.

Mr Hikuama said the motion aimed to recognise the crucial role teachers’ played in fostering a positive learning environment, to improve the overall welfare of teachers through adjustments in their compensation structure, as well as to facilitate a smooth restoration of sports and extracurricular activities in public schools.

He said teachers as the backbone of the country’s development, their role in producing the human capital that drove the country’s socio-economic and nation building agenda should be recognised. Mr Hikuama said teachers were doing multi-faceted work that included fostering knowledge, critical thinking, acting as mentors and counselors as well as providing psycho-social support to students. 

He said they also served in school committees, planned lessons, marked and graded assignments, and this encompassed a lot of work that cannot be confined to normal working hours. The Maun West MP said teachers also dedicated time to coaching sports teams, leading clubs and organising other supplementary activities, and thus needed to be compensated accordingly.

“Adopting a 26-day month pay model would help reduce the conflict between teacher and school management and government. The disruption of school sporting and extra-curricular programmes stem primarily from a dispute over teachers’ remuneration for work done outside regular working hours,” Mr Hikuama said.

MP for Gaborone Central and also Minister for International Relations, Dr Phenyo Butale responded by saying while he agreed with the overall spirit of the motion, there was a need for comprehensive stakeholder consultation before such a motion could be adopted.

Dr Butale said teachers unions needed to be brought on board to ensure that when such a motion was approved by Parliament, all aspects of teacher welfare and conditions of service were explored and thoroughly discussed with the relevant stakeholders to avoid addressing issues in a piecemeal manner.

He also said the Public Service Act was currently under review, including looking at the conditions of service of specialised cadres including teachers, and this process would include negotiations with teacher unions. While agreeing with the 26-day month pay model, he said the teachers unions might also want a package of incentives included and this would allow government to bargain and come to a collective agreement.

Nkange MP,  Mr Motlhaleemang Moalosi was in support of the motion, acknowledging teachers workload. He said as a product of the school system, he understood the need for a better wage structure for teachers. ENDS