Africa-Press – Botswana. Government has commenced a recruitment drive of officers in preparation for the full operationalisation of a dedicated special education unit in Maun.
The Minister of Child Welfare and Basic Education, Ms Nono Kgafela-Mokoka told Parliament that 23 officers, who included educators, therapists and support staff had been employed to support the centre. She said government was working around the clock to ensure the centre becomes operational and currently, key activities underway included development of a functional curriculum tailored to the unique needs of the learners, procurement of specialised equipment and materials to support the learning and rehabilitation as well as general care.
The minister said capacity building for staff to ensure quality service delivery and conducting of diagnostic assessment to facilitate the selection processes were also underway. Ms Kgafela-Mokoka said for the current fiscal year, the centre had been allocated a budget of over P12 million under the recurrent budget, which was intended to cover temporary staffing, resources and operational costs while over P2 million was allocated to cover personal emoluments. She said the centre had been allocated funds under the development budget to facilitate the resourcing.
She added that the ministry was implementing a scale up approach to budget allocation, which would allow for progressive expansion of services and infrastructure as the centre becomes functional. Minister Kgafela-Mokoka said the Maun Centre for Special Education was established under the NDP 11 as a direct response to Botswana’s commitment to ensuring that no child was left behind in education and in recognition of education as a fundamental right.
She said the centre was designed to provide rehabilitation, education and care to learners with severe to profound intellectual and multiple disabilities, which was previously underserved with the Botswana education system. The minister said the centre’s facilities were handed over to the ministry on February 2024 but there were pending issues relating to management of identified defects and additional works, which were being addressed in collaboration with the Ministry of Transport and Public Works.
She was responding to a question from MP for Maun West, Mr Caterpillar Hikuama who wanted an update regarding the establishment of a special dedicated unit in Maun, including the projected timeline for its completion and operationalisation. He had also asked the minister to state the allocated budget for the unit for the current fiscal year and also state if the budget would be sufficient to cover staffing, resources and operational costs.
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