Francistown — The Botswana Teachers' Union (BTU) has revealed that it is negotiating with Botswana Examination Council (BEC) over renumeration for marking exams.

BTU president, Japhta Radibe, disclosed that they recently met with the officials of BEC regarding the matter.

"We feel the conditions are not good for primary and secondary school teachers. But we are still in discussions with them. Our view is strong and the conditions have to be improved. In a nutshell they are unacceptable," Radibe stated.

Recently, Botswana Secondary Teachers' Union (BOSETU) accused BEC of negotiating in bad faith. BOSETU was not happy after the exam body sent out letters to teachers recruiting them for seasonal jobs as examiners in the middle of negotiations for better pay.

Meanwhile, Raidibe said unlike BOSETU, they have not taken a resolution to boycott non-teaching duties like invigilating and marking examinations. He said they need to convene a congress to pass such a resolution, though BTU agrees with BOSETU that the working conditions for examiners are 'horrible'.

Radibe disclosed that they are meeting with BEC officials soon to come up with a better deal. BOSETU's bone of contention is that BEC improved its staff salaries upon becoming a parastatal, but continues to neglect examiners. The BEC was formerly known as the Examinations, Research and Testing Division (ERTS) in the Ministry of Education.

It has been reported that examiners are not happy with their working conditions, wages, living allowances, and even the meals they are served during marking.