18 Feb 2013

The Ministry of Education and Skills Development (MoESD), through Education Hub, will host a delegation from the Asia Pacific University on February 21 to March 17.

According to a press release from MoESD, the purpose of the visit would be to promote the globalisation drive and to create a platform that would enable Botswana and Japan to interact, exchange cultures and learn from one another.

This partnership, the release states, would inevitably turn the two countries into active players of the global village and was expected to serve as a pilot internship programme involving students serving in identified schools in Botswana.

The release further states that the students would be placed in pairs at Lewis Primary School in Molepolole and in Kgafela Primary School in Mochudi.

“Prior arrangements have been made with the schools to find foster parents for the students with whom they would stay for the entire duration of the internship.  The hosts have been advised to treat the students as their own and to expose them to as much of the Setswana culture as possible,” the release says.

It further notes that the expectation is that the Japanese students would be enthusiastic about sharing their culture with Batswana, especially through interacting with members of the school community.

This arrangement is a result of the exploratory visit by Professor Yuichi Kondo and Ms ShinaKei in December, when the Asia Pacific University, also known as the Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University, proposed to send students on an excursion under the auspices of the University’s Educational Internship Abroad and the Student Exchange Nippon Discovery. ENDS