University Botswana Journals
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SCHOOL HEADS AND RESEARCH
Get PDFThis article discusses the role of school heads in research towards school improvement and usesthe constructivist framework by applying an interpretive/hermeneutic design. This approach ismotivated by the authors’ belief that school improvement is ‘context based’. The discussion drawsarguments from a desk-study in which documentary analysis on school heads and research wasconducted. In-school studies and studies by out-of-school researchers in Botswana were alsoanalyzed. International literature was also examined. Literature was explored with the purpose ofeliciting the role that school heads play in research as a critical activity in school improvement.The findings of the study reveal that very little in-school studies led by school heads exist inBotswana. Minimal engagement of school heads in these in-school research activities shows thatresearch in Botswana is still more of a rhetoric than practice. Findings in international literatureshow that schools that engage in research activities generally do better than those that do not. Thisalso apply to school leaders who engage in research
English as a Form of Neo-colonialism in Botswana
Get PDFEnglish is by practice an official language in Botswana. This role means that it takes all significant functional roles in the economy, administration, politics, and education. Since this practice is not based on a language policy, it is difficult to understand the rational of favouring English in Botswana, where Setswana is spoken by 75% of the population and it is understood by even a higher percentage. There are also other languages that have an important regional communication role. The arguments made in this article are that the English language hegemony is tantamount to linguistic imperialism and is a permutation of apolitical colonialism in a sovereign country such as Botswana. The arguments raised here seek to contribute to fresh debates of linguistic decolonialization in Africa. It is the view of this article that promoting Setswana and other local languages will make sense in the educational domain and in the construction of a national linguistic and cultural identity
CHALLENGES AND ATTITUDES TOWARDS DICTIONARIES IN BOTSWANA JUNIOR SECONDARY SCHOOLS
Get PDFDictionaries are important repositories of language and provide important details of a language such as meaning, spelling, pronunciation, morphology, usage, and grammar. This study investigates attitudes of learners in Botswana junior secondary schools towards dictionaries and dictionary formats to determine the challenges they face in using dictionaries. The study uses a survey to elicit information from students and teachers from two schools. The study reveals that a dictionary is an important learning tool for most students. Electronic dictionaries in particular are useful because they are quick and easy to use while book dictionaries are preferred because they are easy to understand. The greatest difficulty encountered by students is failure to understand the definition of words and failure to select the right meaning where a word has multiple meanings. The study also reveals that although teachers do not offer dictionary education to students, they recommend a dictionary when the need arises, such as when students have spelling problems, or when they need to check the definition of a vocabulary item
THE HUMAN RIGHTS’ IMPLICATIONS OF NON-RATIFICATION OF AND RESERVATIONS TO THE UN CONVENTION ON THE RIGHTS OF PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES
Get PDFThe UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, 2006, (CRPD) opened the door to the enjoyment of human rights by persons living with disabilities in equal measure with the rest of humanity as mandated by the foundational International Bill of Human Rights (IBHR), viz. the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 1948, and the two human rights Covenants of 1966, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and their Optional Protocols. This door had been nudged by the UN Declaration on the Rights of Mentally Retarded Persons, 1971, the UN Declaration on the Rights of Disabled Persons, 1975, and United Nations General Assembly’s declaration of the “UN Decade of Disabled Persons” from 1983 to 1992. However, the non-ratification of and reservations made to this Convention by some UN Member States appear to be steadily unsettling this door as they adversely impact on the Conventions’ guiding principles, such as the following: respect for inherent dignity and individual autonomy, including the freedom to make one’s own choices; non-discrimination; equality of opportunity; and full and effective participation and inclusion in society. This is the context in which this paper, from a theoretical perspective, interrogates the CRPD in a two-pronged approach. Firstly, it challenges UN Member States who are yet to ratify the CRPD to uphold their treaty obligation under the UN Charter, 1945, and the IBHR to encourage respect for human rights for all without discrimination; thus, the paper argues about the effects of lack of such non-ratification. Secondly, the paper critiques reservations made to the CRPD, which have the effect of defeating the object and purposes of the Convention and, thus, undermining international law and, more importantly, the dignity of persons with disabilities. Hence, the paper concludes by urging UN Member States yet to ratify the CRPD to do so and those who have attached reservations to their ratifications and which reservations dilute or obfuscate the Convention to renounce such reservations and, thereby, contribute to the maintenance of the integrity of the Convention and, thereby, the inherent dignity of persons with disabilities
FLOOR CROSSING AND ELECTIVE OFFICE: FREEDOM OF CHOICE OR BETRAYAL OF TRUST? – THE CASE OF BOTSWANA
Get PDFThe world over, countries are grappling with how they can improve their democratic, governance and electoral systems. One of the foremost problems confronting them, especially countries using the first-past-the-post electoral system, is floor crossing. This article examines the arguments advanced in favour of, and those against, floor crossing. It appears that floor crossing is a concern, and most prevalent, in developing countries which are nascent democracies. This article maintains that there should be a balance between the interests of the representative who wants to cross the floor and those of his or her erstwhile party, and the electorate. Such a balance can only be achieved if the electoral system allows a defector to relinquish his or her seat so that there is a fresh election which effectively rejects or endorses his or his defection
ENHANCING THE PROTECTION OF MINORS FROM DEFILEMENT IN BOTSWANA: MERITS AND FLAWS OF THE LAW AND THE PROCESS
Get PDFAdequate protection of minors from sexual exploitation by way of defilement should be the priority of every government. To this end, laws must be promulgated with the object of affording the required protection. The crafting of such laws is by no means an easy task. There are copious challenges that must be confronted in order to distil an effective law. These include deciding the appropriate age of consent by ensuring that all minors are protected whilst circumventing the pitfalls of criminalising non-exploitative sexual experimentation between adolescents. Moreover, there is the notable challenge of opting between making accommodations for the “mentally innocent” accused person by virtue of the mistake of age defence and rendering defilement a strict liability offence. Beyond the crafting of the laws, the criminal justice system must be sufficiently capacitated to achieve the effective prosecution of perpetrators of defilement. This entails the prosecution being fully alive to the elements of the offence and the nature of the evidence that is required to fruitfully prove the case against the accused person. On the other hand, judicial officers must be vigilant with respect to their duties in defilement cases principally where there is an unrepresented accused person. Any lapse in the system in this regard will regrettably result in the acquittal of persons who are otherwise guilty and this undercuts the protection that the law seeks to achieve. The essence of this paper is to assess the adequacy or otherwise of defilement laws in Botswana and the prosecution of defilement cases in light of the challenges highlighted above. Inspiration is drawn from how other jurisdictions have attempted to deal with the various challenges and recommendations are made in order to ensure that the protection of minors is enhanced and the object of the defilement laws is achieved
LANGUAGE AND THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC IN BOTSWANA
Get PDFThis study looks at the importance of language in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic inBotswana. Using linguistic framing, the study focuses firstly on the frames of interpretation builtby government communication through the discourse on COVID-19. Secondly, the study analyseshow coronavirus-related experiences are labelled in indigenous languages. The results show thatwar metaphors are used to frame coronavirus discourses. Furthermore, there is evidence of arepurposing of existing Setswana terms to cater for novel coronavirus experiences. Taken together,linguistic framing and the use of repurposing existing familiar words are used to shape the nation’sunderstanding of COVID-19, garner public support for the government’s policy stance, educate thenation, and ensure people’s participation in prevention and containment efforts