Botswana
Education

Botswana has made educational progress since independence in 1966. In 1966, there were only 22 graduates in the country and only a very small percentage of the population attended secondary school. Botswana increased its adult literacy rate from 69% in 1991 to 83% in 2008. Among sub-Saharan African countries, Botswana has one of the highest literacy rates. As of 2024, 88.5% of the population age 15 and over could read and write and were respectively literate.

The Botswana Ministry of Education is working to establish libraries in primary schools in partnership with the African Library Project. The Government of Botswana hopes that by investing a large part of national income in education, the country will become less dependent on diamonds for its economic survival, and less dependent on expatriates for its skilled workers. NPVET (National Policy on Vocational Education and Training) introduced policies in favour of vocational education. Botswana invests 21% of its government spending in education.

In January 2006, Botswana announced the reintroduction of school fees after two decades of free state education, though the government still provides full scholarships with living expenses to any Botswana citizen in university, either at the University of Botswana or if the student wishes to pursue an education in any field not offered locally, they are provided with a full scholarship to study abroad.
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