Africa-Press – Botswana. The 2022 Botswana Examinations Council (BEC) top achievers are torch-bearers that have not only made their parents, teachers and government proud, but have also raised the bar for academic excellence for future cohorts of examination candidates.
Speaking at a BEC top achievers awards ceremony in Gaborone yesterday, President Dr Mokgweetsi Masisi hailed the 36 top performers for their dedication to education and encouraged them to be the country’s agents of change and vision keepers for a better Botswana.
Dr Masisi encouraged them to maintain a positive outlook of life by remaining steadfast in their quest to attain academic greatness, urging them not to allow fear to hold them back. He also thanked their parents and teachers for their guidance and support, saying the success of learners was to a large extent hinged on the collaboration of these key stakeholders.“
“Had it not been for their facilitation and guidance, we would not be here today. It is out of their efforts that today we are honouring and celebrating these 36 learners who have performed exceptionally well during the 2022 examinations,” he said. Bestowing the awards’ most coveted prize, The Golden Star Award to former Naledi Senior Secondary School pupil,Joshua Ezekiel, President Masisi said the award set its recipient apart, putting him ahead of the pack. “The Golden Star is the epitome of academic success. The recipient of the Presidential Award is a model of what a wholesome human being should be like. The nation and his parents expect stories of success throughout this young man’s academic path,” he said.
Ezekiel, currently an A-levels pupil at Maru-a-pula Secondary School, registered nine A*, one A and a B in his 2022 BGCSE examinations, and his achievement saw him walk away with P15 000, a trophy and a MacBook from President Masisi.
The Assistant Minister of Education and Skills Development, Ms Nnaniki Makwinja equally applauded the schools, teachers as well as parents and guardians for their support that ensured that learners excelled in their studies.
She also commended the private sector for collaborating with government on issues of education, saying with the support of award sponsors such as Debswana and Stanbic Bank, the Ministry of Education and Skills Development was on course to produce the calibre of leaders that Botswana needed for its existence to be felt globally.
BEC Chief Executive Officer, Dr Moreetsi Thobega said the sterling performance of the top achievers was testimony that any learner who interacted sufficiently with the learning material could do well in their examinations. Explaining the selection process of the achievers, Dr Thobega said 10 best performers were selected at Botswana General Certificate of Secondary Education (BGCSE) and Junior Certificate Examinations (JCE) level respectively.
He said most of the BGCSE top achievers would have posted a performance of at least six A* while at JCE level most would have attained a Merit.
The Top 10 at the Primary Schools Leaving Examinations (PSLE) were selected among those who had attained straight A’s in all subjects, he explained. Regarding the special education category, Dr Thobega said a best performer from both the hearing impaired and visually challenged segments was selected, hence a total of six award recipients, translating to two awardees from PSLE, JCE and BGCSE respectively.
Other top award earners at the 14th edition of the annual excellence awards included Ngeepetjike Ngaruka, a former Materspei College pupil who came overall second and walked away with the Minister’s Award; and Prince Motswaiso, a former Francistown Senior Secondary School learner, who was awarded the BEC Chairman’s award as he came third overall in the 2022 BGCSE final examination.
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