Comprehensive Sexuality Education

Botswana is a land-locked southern African country with a youth population that constitutes about half of the population. It is one of the most sparsely populated countries in the world, only one-tenth of the population living in the capital, Gaborone. The period of free, compulsory education is ten years. Botswana has a very high rate of primary school enrolment and one of the highest adult literacy rates in the southern African region. HIV is a national concern as Botswana has one of the highest HIV prevalence rates in the world. According to the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), in 2020, the HIV prevalence rate was estimated to be about one-fifth of the adult population. As a result of government efforts, Botswana has made steady progress in the area of sexual and reproductive health (SRH). In the past decade, the HIV prevalence rate has been steadily decreasing alongside the maternal mortality rate. Meanwhile, levels of comprehensive knowledge on HIV and contraception have been improving.  

A 2011 study by the Southern and Eastern Africa Consortium for Monitoring Educational Quality found that over-two thirds of Standard 6 pupils lacked the minimal knowledge about HIV that is required for protecting and promoting health. Since then, Botswana has developed one of the more progressive anti-HIV programmes on the African continent. Efforts have been made to integrate life-skills and sexuality education into the curriculum. Students are taught about HIV from the primary school level.

The 1966 Education Act provides the legal framework for the development of education in Botswana. The 1977 National Education Policy and the 1994 Revised National Policy on Education aimed to expand access to education for all, prioritizing primary-school level education. In terms of the policies, students should exit the ten-year free and compulsory education programme with ‘a good knowledge and practice of moral standards and health practices that will prepare them for responsible family and community life.’  

The 1998 National HIV & AIDS Policy calls for information, education and communication ‘to form the basis for changes of social and sexual norms, values and behaviours which facilitate the spread of HIV in the population.’ It confers on the education sector the responsibility for the integration of HIV education into the curriculum and to provide health services for students living with HIV. The policy also highlights the promotion of gender equality in all spheres of national and community life. 

The Botswana Education and Training Sector Strategic Plan (ETSSP 2015-2020) includes cross-cutting issues that are embedded in curricula such as gender and HIV. Specifically, the ETSSP aims to support teachers through capacity-building programmes that address HIV prevention through life-skills education for teachers at both pre-service and in-service stages of a teacher’s career.  

The Revised National Youth Policy 2010 includes strategies such as ‘involv[ing] vulnerable groups in Adolescent Sexual Reproductive Health Programmes’ and ‘mainstreaming adolescent sexual reproductive health and HIV prevention into youth life-skills programmes and education.’ The policy also calls for the development of comprehensive youth and health empowerment programmes. In the related 2010-2016 National Youth Action Plan, action steps include: accelerating the establishment and sustaining of the network of youth-friendly health facilities; and creating livelihood programmes, peer education programmes, and information, education and communication (IEC) materials on adolescent SRH and HIV.  

The AIDS Policy for the Education Sector makes provisions for the prevention of HIV transmission and confirms that comprehensive sexuality education (CSE) will be incorporated into the teachers’ curricula. Relatedly, the HIV & AIDS Strategic Framework (2011-2016) requires that CSE be provided from pre-school to higher education and teacher education. Certain emphasis is put on the integration of sexuality education and life-skills education into teacher education programmes. 

Botswana also has other relevant policies such as the 1999 School Health Policy and Procedures Manual, 2015-2020 National School Health Implementation Strategy, the 2010-2016 Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health Implementation Strategy, the 2010 National Population Policy, the 2004 Sexual and Reproductive Health Policy, and the Botswana Multi Sectoral Strategy for the Prevention and Control of  Non-Communicable Diseases 2018-2023.

According to the Primary School Programme, when students exit the programme they should have developed awareness of their rights and responsibilities related to health, gender, law, violence, identity, and civic and other social and moral issues. In the Skills for Life Usage Guidelines for the primary level, components of life-skills education and HIV education are integrated into different subjects. For example, in environmental sciences, students may learn about how diseases spread; in science, students may be asked to discuss the risk of having multiple sexual partners; and in language classes, students learn about relationships and family. 

In the Skills for Life Usage Guidelines for the junior and senior secondary level, topics such as healthy living, communication, risky decisions, likes and dislikes, stress, puberty, alcohol and drug use are integrated into other curriculum subjects. In science, students discuss puberty, sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and HIV in more detail. When students exit the two-year senior secondary programme, they should have ‘acquired knowledge, attitudes and practices that will ensure good family and health practices including awareness and management of epidemics (such as HIV & AIDS) that prepare them for productive life.’

Teacher preparedness and capacity building: Information was not found. 

Whether teachers are mandated to be trained on provision/delivery of sexuality education either as part of PRESET or INSET: Sexuality education is offered for pre-service teacher training and in-service teacher training. According to a 2015 study by UNESCO: Comprehensive Sexuality Education in Teacher Training in Eastern and Southern Africa, topics covered in pre-service training in Botswana include gender issues, HIV, stigma and discrimination, and counselling. According to the Living: Skills for Life/ Botswana's Window of Hope (2005) guidance document, teachers in each school are trained through a hierarchical training system. Master trainers are trained directly by project officers and at the primary level, master trainers train selected teachers from all schools in their inspectorate areas. The trainers of trainers are then responsible for training all teachers in their schools. Trainers provide ongoing support to teachers in their school and region through refresher sessions and consultations. A training manual for the Living Programme is also available.

The Ministry of Education and Skills Development is responsible for managing the compulsory education system. According to the 1998 National HIV & AIDS Policy, the Ministry of Education is responsible for the ‘integration of AIDS and STI education into all levels and institutions of education, starting at primary school level, and extending to tertiary, teacher training and non-formal institutions.’ 

Other relevant departments include the Department of Information and Broadcasting, which also plays a role in disseminating information and education on HIV and STIs; and the Ministry of Labour, as well as Home Affairs and Social Welfare, which develops and implements AIDS prevention programmes for populations outside the compulsory education system. Furthermore, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), International Organizations (IOs), and the private sector also have a role to play in sexuality education.