All over the world education has undergone constant and continuous reviews in an effort to make its impact and effect on the lives of the recipients and the general members of the society better. As a consequence of these reviews education has become a concern to a diverse population of consumers and a variety of interest groups. This has increased discussions and debates about education and what it is (definition) and what it should do (aims and functions).

By and large education is regarded as important in serving the needs of the country and especially it is expected to help solve the nation's problems. By extension this could be paraphrased to mean that education promises solutions to a country's problems. Bringing the discussion home to Botswana, a group of educational researchers have contributed articles to Mosenodi-Journal of the Botswana Educational Research Association, Volume 16, Number 1, 2008. This is a special issue of eight articles entitled, Promises and Problems of Education in Botswana.

In these eight articles, the array of ideas about education are reflected, with R N Lekoko advocating for an education system that would address the rising problem of unemployment. She calls for an integrated curriculum that brings academic and vocational skills together towards self-employment.

The first article by S Mukhopadhyay and P O Nwaogu points out the problems of provision of education to non-verbal learners with intellectual impairment. The authors advocate that a solution to that problem lies in the use of Augmentative Alternative Communication.

B L Morolong's article argues that non-formal education has not enhanced women's status in informal sector activities even though it has a great potential to do so. On a similar note, B C Pheko's paper notes that access to education has still left out rural children and they suffer the consequences thereof and makes a number of suggestions about what can be improved.

O M Modise posits that some of the problems facing adult education are a misinformed public image and lack of dissemination and usage of research findings; the paper also offers suggestions on what could be done.

At a more broad or general public education level, N A Boaduo and S M Babitseng's article considers its role as starting a debate on the area of introspection and the need for reform towards achieving the ideals of Vision 2016.

The following two studies are subject specific. S K Mmolai's article on Religious Education proposes that the subject has a great role in promoting HIV prevention in Botswana and that it should be made a core subject in Botswana's senior secondary schools as opposed to the current status of being an optional, enrichment and non-examinable subject. From the field of science, S M Suping's study sought to establish what progress is made in creating a scientifically literate Botswana society. The study finds that more has to be done.

The Special Issue: Promises and Problems of Education in Botswana offers a wide range of fields of study and of education, including: comments and suggestions on the type of curriculum (an integration of academic and vocational skills) towards self-employment; non-formal education; problems of education access to rural communities; problems of equity in the provision of education to non-verbal learners with intellectual impairment; adult education; general national education; religious education; and science education.

This is an important informative publication that should be read with other studies in the field; and should especially be read with other countries' reports in order to gain a comparative perspective.

The general trend in the papers is that they tend to point out more problems with the current provision of education than answers or promises. Some of the papers indicate that the ideal visions and goals of the education system and country as they appear in policy papers are good, but the implementation and practice is not. Educational research is an important tool in making people understand the dynamics about what the education provided is achieving or not achieving, and thereby what can be done. Its quality is also dependent on the availability of funding and support so it should be financially supported so that it can produce findings and recommendations that are very helpful in bringing about the appropriate changes.