Africa-Press – Botswana. Fourteen candidates have achieved outstanding performance in the just-released 2022 Botswana General Certificate of Secondary Education (BGCSE) examination results compared to 17 the year before.
Announcing the results during a press conference in Gaborone monday, Botswana Examination Council (BEC) board chairperson, Dr Olefile Molwane said the top candidate achieved 9A*, 1A and 1B from 11 syllabuses.
He explained that the criterion for outstanding performance was achievement of at least 6A* in the syllabuses that a candidate had taken.
Dr Molwane said although the 2022 cohort had performed better than the previous one, there was a decrease of 6.4 per cent in candidature compared to the 2021 cohort of 37 629.
A total of 35 199 candidates sat for the 2022 examinations comprising 14 500 male and 20 699 female candidates, he said.
The BEC chairperson said the overall performance of government, private schools including individual private candidates registered a pass rate of 66.51 per cent, showing a significant improvement of 5.24 per cent at Grade G or better compared to 2021.
According to Dr Molwane, a significant improvement of 3.32 per cent had been noted at Grade E or better and an insignificant improvement of 1.60 per cent at Grade C or better.
The overall pass rate for government schools was at 95.46 per cent showing a decline of 1.63 per cent in the 2021 figure.
The proportion of candidates achieving 6Es or better was at 62.59 per cent compared to 64.04 per cent in 2021.
However, the proportion of candidates achieving 6Cs or better was 21.38 per cent compared to 21.20 per cent in 2021 indicating an insignificant improvement.
Minister of Education and Skills Development, Dr Douglas Letsholathebe commended government for restoring normalcy in the teaching and learning space post COVID-19 pandemic.
He pointed out that the 2022 cohort started their Form Four at the beginning of 2021 when the pandemic was at its peak.
They were therefore affected by lockdowns, school closures, delayed school terms, loss of teachers’ and relatives due to the pandemic, he said.
Dr Letsholathebe reiterated government’s ideal of attaining a knowledge-based economy that was laden with 4th Industrial Revolution skills.
He said the e-education strategy, introduction of Outcomes Based Education curriculum at senior school level constituted the first step towards the desired ideal.
The results will be given to individual candidates through SMS lines and will also be distributed to centres and regional offices.
For More News And Analysis About Botswana Follow Africa-Press
