Bullied teachers cry out

Fed up Maoka Junior Secondary School teachers in Gaborone ponders exposing some of the school senior management that continues to unleash terror and bullying the junior teachers.

The aggrieved teachers at the school said the sour relations between them and some of Heads of Departments (HODs) has reached a boil hence some opt to be transferred out from Maoka.

In an interview with some teachers from Maoka JSS who requested anonymity,  school administrators (HODs) are very abusive as they throw insults at them daily.

“The supervisors use threatening words such as we are holding your futures, your job security depend on me. The targeted teachers shared their aggrivances to BOSETU,’’ said one teacher.

To this end, the unhappy teachers are lobbying to petition through their unions abusive bosses. Secretary General of Botswana Sectors of Educators Trade Union (BOSETU) Tobokani Rari has warned the school administrators to stop their growing iron fist rule of bullying the teachers.

Rari said BOSETU is concerned by some school administrators’ country wide who continuously run institutions by iron fist and in a totalitarian way threatening the teachers on unfair manner.

The maverick BOSETU SG expressed his discontentment to school administrators and blasted Ministry of Basic Education (MoBE) for moving in a snail pace to deal with abusive managers. “We have a few of such hot spot schools which the union has since brought to the attention the Ministry officials such as Maoka JSS, Artesia JSS, Dukwi Junior Secondary School etc,’’ said Rari.

He noted that they are worried that the ministry become sluggish in taking action against such errant school administrators saying when action is taken the same bureaucrats are transferred. “This in our view is not is not a lasting solution.

He said regarding Maoka the union wrote to the Office of the President (OP) complaining about the illtreatment of teachers, noting that sour relations between the parties has reached a boil.

Minister of Basic Education Fidelis Molao was not available to comment as his phone was off.