Widespread education for all children was approved as part of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1989. In 1990, the World Summit for Children acknowledged girls’ education as a development tool, and gender parity in education is integral to the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), as it is the third of the eight goals.
This qualitative study sought to gain a better understanding of the factors driving gender disparities in enrolment in and graduation from Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) post secondary education programmes in Botswana, in the context of closing the gender gap in education at all levels. The methodology included analysing official documents, published reports, and research findings of studies conducted elsewhere in the field of STEM education.
Research findings suggest that low graduation of girls in post secondary institutions arises from a wide range of issues such as the rigid patriarchal systems of social groups and other socio-cultural practices found within Botswana society. My study has also found out that the school curriculum is one of the institutionalized forms of creating disparity in the education of boys and girls. I have argued that the some of academic subjects in Botswana’s secondary schools are gender-biased and this ultimately lead to the gender disparities in enrolment and graduation in STEM disciplines. I provide plausible recommendations that Botswana can adopt to drive toward gender parity in STEM education.