Inspiration should not have to fight against its environment
For decades, Botswana's public schools have stood as quiet monuments to deferred promise — places where children learned to dream in spite of crumbling walls rather than because of what surrounded them. In March 2026, President Duma Boko broke that long silence with a sweeping commitment to refurbish all 1,020 government schools, giving institutional form to that promise through the newly created Education Infrastructure Management Company. The initiative confronts not merely deteriorating buildings but a deeper fracture in the social contract — the quiet exodus of families toward private schooling that signals a loss of faith in public education itself. Whether the ambition can be matched by the P7 billion required to fulfill it will determine whether this moment becomes a turning point or another entry in a long ledger of good intentions.
- Three-quarters of Botswana's secondary schools have fallen into 'red zone' conditions — broken lighting, failing sanitation, overcrowded classrooms, and teacher housing deemed unfit for habitation.
- The crisis is accelerating: schools that needed only moderate repairs just a year ago have since collapsed into emergency status, compressing the window for intervention.
- A widening digital divide and the proliferation of private schools signal that public education has lost its social standing, with families voting with their feet against a system that no longer meets expectations.
- The newly formed Education Infrastructure Management Company is launching a phased overhaul beginning with 22 pilot schools in April 2026, embedding maintenance systems and local artisan networks to prevent the cycle of repair-and-neglect from repeating.
- The programme's P7 billion price tag dwarfs the P1 billion government allocation, leaving its success contingent on securing partnerships with international development finance institutions, bilateral donors, and corporate foundations.
Every morning for decades, assembly bells rang out across Botswana's schoolyards against a backdrop of slow decay — paint peeling from walls, teacher housing crumbling, sanitation systems failing. Children learned to dream despite their surroundings, not because of them. On March 14, during a national cleanup campaign in Gaborone, President Duma Boko made a promise that broke the pattern: every government school in the country would be refurbished.
The scale of what that promise confronts is sobering. Recent assessments found that three-quarters of secondary schools require urgent intervention, with many classified in what the new Education Infrastructure Management Company calls the 'red zone' — buildings so deteriorated they are no longer fit for learning or habitation. The situation has worsened rapidly, and EIMC's chief executive Chandada Masendu-Kusane was direct: continuing with business as usual is no longer viable. The crisis is compounded by a digital divide that leaves Botswana's schools far behind global standards, and by a quiet exodus of families toward private schooling — a signal that public education has lost its claim on public confidence.
The programme covers all 1,020 public schools across the country, unfolding in phases beginning April 2026. The first three years will target visible transformation, starting with 22 pilot schools. Much of the pressure on junior secondary institutions traces to a structural mismatch born in 1996, when the Junior Certificate programme was extended from two years to three — schools built for 12 streams suddenly needed to hold 18, and most never received the infrastructure to match.
What distinguishes this effort from previous repair campaigns is its insistence on permanence. Past fixes deteriorated because maintenance systems were never established. This time, maintenance budgets, facility management structures, and operational support staff will be built in from the start. EIMC has also assembled a database of local artisans — plumbers, welders, carpenters, bricklayers — to carry out work within their own communities, anchoring the programme in local economies.
The central obstacle is financing. The full programme requires P7 billion; government has allocated P1 billion for the coming financial year. To close the gap, EIMC is pursuing foundations, development finance institutions, bilateral donors, and corporations, with discussions already underway regionally and internationally. For Masendu-Kusane, the stakes reach beyond bricks and mortar — the programme is about changing the national story, and returning public schools to the status of spaces that inspire rather than merely contain.
Every morning for decades, the sound of assembly bells has rung out across Botswana's schoolyards against a landscape of slow deterioration. Classroom walls shed paint in long strips. Teacher housing crumbles from years of deferred maintenance. The grounds themselves seem to absorb the weight of neglect. Yet somehow, from these fragile spaces, future doctors and leaders and artists have emerged—children who learned to dream despite their surroundings, not because of them.
On March 14, during a national cleanup campaign in Gaborone, President Duma Boko made a promise that broke the pattern. Every government school in the country would be refurbished. The announcement sparked the creation of the Education Infrastructure Management Company, a new government entity tasked with the enormous work of rebuilding, modernizing, and maintaining public school infrastructure across the nation.
The scale of the problem became clear through recent assessments. Three-quarters of secondary schools require urgent intervention. Many fall into what EIMC calls the 'red zone'—buildings so deteriorated that they feature broken lighting, overcrowded classrooms, failing sanitation facilities, and teacher housing unfit for habitation. The situation has worsened rapidly; schools classified as needing only moderate repairs just a year ago have since collapsed into crisis. Chandada Masendu-Kusane, the company's chief executive, described the physical state plainly: schools are in bad condition, and continuing with business as usual is no longer viable.
The infrastructure crisis is compounded by a digital divide. Botswana's schools lag far behind global standards in technology and modernization. This gap has consequences. Private schools and home schooling operations have proliferated as families seek alternatives, signaling that public education no longer meets expectations. The refurbishment programme aims to reverse that exodus by restoring public schools to a standard that makes them the preferred choice rather than a fallback.
The programme covers all 1,020 public schools—779 primary schools, 207 junior secondary schools, and 34 senior secondary schools. Implementation begins in April 2026 and will unfold in phases, with the first three years targeting visible transformation across the country. The initial phase focuses on 22 pilot schools: 11 junior secondary institutions including Madikwe, Patikwane, and Ramokgonami, and 11 senior secondary schools including Molefhi, Gaborone, and Maun. Much of the pressure on junior secondary schools stems from a structural mismatch created in 1996, when Botswana extended the Junior Certificate programme from two years to three. Schools designed to hold 12 streams suddenly needed to accommodate 18, and most never received the infrastructure to match. Boarding schools have been hit particularly hard by overcrowding.
What distinguishes this effort from previous repair campaigns is its commitment to permanence. In the past, schools were fixed only to deteriorate again because maintenance systems were never established. This time, maintenance budgets and facility management systems will be built in from the start. EIMC will also handle operational support—cooks, groundsmen, and other staff—freeing teachers to focus on instruction. The company will manage financial governance too, including fee collection, which currently reaches only 25 percent of what should be gathered. Better use of school facilities for revenue generation could fund ongoing upkeep.
The company has organized operations across seven zones, each with a dedicated facility manager. Districts will have clerks of works overseeing maintenance and quality. To anchor the work locally, EIMC has built a database of artisans and technical vocational education and training workers—plumbers, welders, carpenters, bricklayers—who will carry out projects within their own communities, benefiting local economies.
The obstacle is money. The full programme requires P7 billion. Government has allocated P1 billion for the 2026/27 financial year, with P300 million earmarked for the first 22 schools. To close the gap, EIMC is pursuing partnerships with foundations, development finance institutions, bilateral donors, corporations, and trade unions. Discussions are underway with a local foundation and with the Southern African Development Community Development Finance Resource Centre, which connects to 37 development finance institutions across 16 countries. International grants tied to sanitation, infrastructure, and education are also being pursued. For Masendu-Kusane, the programme transcends infrastructure. It is about changing the national story—transforming public schools into spaces that inspire excellence and reflect the ambitions of a modern Botswana.
Citas Notables
Schools are in a bad state physically, and business as usual can no longer be an option.— Chandada Masendu-Kusane, EIMC chief executive
The mushrooming of home schools and tutoring centres shows that government schools are not offering what the public expects.— Chandada Masendu-Kusane, EIMC chief executive
La Conversación del Hearth Otra perspectiva de la historia
Why did it take so long for this to happen? Schools have been deteriorating for years.
The assessments show that 75 percent of secondary schools are in crisis now. But the real shift was political will. A new president made a different choice about what matters.
The private school migration—is that a symptom or a cause of the problem?
Both. Families leave public schools because conditions are poor. But their departure also drains resources and confidence, which makes public schools worse. It becomes a spiral.
Why focus on 22 pilot schools first instead of spreading resources across all 1,020?
You learn what works before you scale it. These pilots will show whether the maintenance model actually holds, whether the local artisan approach works, whether the funding partnerships materialize.
The fee collection rate is only 25 percent. Won't that problem persist even after buildings are fixed?
Possibly. But EIMC is taking direct responsibility for collection instead of leaving it to schools. That's different. And when facilities are better, families may be more willing to pay.
What happens if the P7 billion doesn't materialize?
The programme continues in phases, but slower. The first three years focus on those 22 schools and whatever else the allocated billion can reach. The rest depends on whether international partners commit.
Is this really about infrastructure, or is it about something else?
It's about both. Yes, walls need paint and roofs need repair. But Masendu-Kusane is clear: Botswana is falling behind digitally. This is about making public schools competitive again, not just functional.