Botswana and NYSP
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To give an educating, broadening,
maturing experience to
all 'O' level (secondary) school leavers
before they begin further education or
employment; to expose them to the realities of
developmental needs in remote
rural areas (and to their problems of meeting
them); to increase their
self-confidence, self-discipline, initiative,
sense of responsibility, ability
to identify, analyze, and help solve problems,
and their commitment to the
development of their country;
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To provide educated manpower to help
carry out development
programs in rural areas, particularly in
remote
areas
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To encourage greater understanding of
each other among
people from different parts of the
country.
A pilot program was
launched in 1980 with 28 participants who
worked in 14 villages experiencing a
shortage of teachers. Although originally
drawing members on a voluntary basis
and designed to help Government Ministries and
Departments meet personnel
shortfalls, TS became mandatory in 1985 and
gradually evolved its own program
of development activities as the number of
participant increased. By 1999 the
program had substantially expanded from its
modest beginnings. Originally TS
had a staff of 3, an annual budget of 182,000
Pula and 28 participants. When it
was discontinued in 2000 it had a staff of
150, an annual budget of 53,398,080
Pula, and over 6,000 participants.
TS participants, ages
16-20 served for 12 months, generally in rural
areas, where they undertook
teaching assignments in primary schools as
well as agriculture, social and
community development, wildlife management,
tourism, rural industries, and
local cooperatives. Rather than live in
government housing, participants lived
with local families and were encouraged to
integrate into village life.
Tirelo Setshaba
functioned fairly effectively for almost 20
years with a number of notable
successes. Participants had the opportunity to
engage local communities,
participate in experiential learning programs,
and learn about the cultural
diversity in their country as well as the
developmental challenges facing their
society. 80% of participants said that their
service was a formative
experience. Government agencies benefited from
the increased manpower available
for the provision of social services.
Communities benefited by the engagement
of TS participants in the development of day
care centers, education programs,
and youth groups. Perhaps most notably,
improvements in math and literacy test
scores in poor performing districts were
partly attributed to the efforts of
Tirelo Setshaba
programs.
Despite these successes
Tirelo Setshaba suffered from a number of
shortcomings, ultimately resulting in
its discontinuation in 2000. One problem was
finding accommodation in local
communities for the growing number of
participants. The program was also
criticized for only benefiting a small number
of elite participants who were
already well educated and fairly skilled.
Finally, the growing cost of the
program led many to question its relevance. At
present, Tirelo Setshaba has not
been replaced by any comparable NYSP.
The example of TS clearly
demonstrates how difficult it can be to
sustain even a modest national service
scheme. Maintaining a national service program
over the course of many years
requires the commitment and dedication of
public officials to the goal of youth
empowerment. It also requires systemic effort
to monitor and evaluate programs
through a regular review process and the
willingness to make modifications as
necessary. Finally, program managers, public
officials and youth participants
must constantly remind the public at large of
the value of their work. Without
these efforts, national service programs are
likely to be seen as costly or
ineffective and thus irrelevant.