By Frederick Philander
WINDHOEK
A four-person delegation of the Teachers Union of Namibia (TUN) will be leaving today to attend the annual congress of the Botswana Secondary Schools Teachers Union in that country.
The two unions in May this year signed a formal bilateral agreement of cooperation in the capital.
“This is our first opportunity to attend our Botswana counterparts’ congress and we are looking forward to taking part in discussions on mutual issues and problems in both our countries during the four-day congress,” said the leader of the delegation, Mahongoro Kavihuha, the coordinator of professional development in TUN.
According to him, the main purpose of their visit to Botswana is to put together a mechanism to implement the agreement the two sides have signed.
“We will put on the table for discussion a new debate on the working hours of teachers in both our countries. A general argument is presently that teachers should work an 8-to-5 day instead of the present demand that teachers be available 24 hours a day. This argument will be entertained more thoroughly at our next annual congress,” said Kavihuha.
He also said that his delegation would make practical inputs on methods to unify the current split union fraternity in Botswana.
“It is unfortunately the case in Botswana that two unions operate separately on secondary and primary school levels. This does not augur well for unity in the teaching profession in either of our countries,” he said.