11 Dec 2024

Botswana Examinations Council (BEC) is expected to release the Primary School Leaving Examinations (PSLE) results next week following completion of the marking and grading process.

Giving an update on the 2024 examination cycle in Gaborone on December 11, BEC chief executive officer, Dr Moreetsi Thobega said Junior Certificate Examination (JCE) results would also be released on the last week of January 2025 once all processes were complete.

They will be followed by Botswana General Certificate for Secondary Education (BGCSE) results during the third week of February next year.

He said announcement of results for the three examinations would be shared through platforms, such as short messages technology, BEC Facebook page, Twitter, website, electronic/radio and print media.

In terms of the statistics, Dr Thobega explained that 135 404 candidates registered for 2024 PSLE, JCE and BGCSE examinations and he expressed delight that the examination activities took place under a cordial teaching and learning environment. 

Of the 135 404 candidates, 53 043 sat for PSLE, 45 407 for JCE and 36 954 sat for BGCSE.

He said PSLE marking was done from November 4-7, while for JC and BGCSE marking commenced on December 9, and was set for completion on December 23.

Dr Thobega  also updated the media on the challenges encountered during the administration of the examinations and the process that leads to certification.

To improve efficiency, he said BEC introduced new developments in their examinations process, such as the E-marking, Data Smart automated application and marking process supported by the Malepa System, which the council had been using for over 14 years.

Dr Thobega explained that BEC had conducted both physical and virtual training for its examination personnel to conform to the set international examination administration standards, as well as to reduce cases of examination maladministration and malpractice.

He said BEC had been using digitalised examination processes; the E-Marking and E-Authoring, since 2022, noting that the E-marking process would continue to increase gradually in the final year examinations to accommodate marking of more components.

He said BEC innovated an application called DataSmart as part of the efforts to enhance the assessment process by capturing marks with accuracy and efficiency at marking venues.

“With user-friendly interfaces and streamlined workflows, DataSmart minimises human error, while maximising efficiency. Our mission is to ensure that assessors and stakeholders can rely on our systems to produce valid, fair, and transparent results,” he added.

All the three examination results, he said were processed through Malepa System, since 2014. 

Post-examinations review, the CEO said the use of Malepa, with Data Smart had improved accuracy in registration and examination processing, controls and accountability as well as data flow between centres and BEC. Ends