28 Jul 2015

Costs for training pharmacy students varies across the world, the Assistant Minister of Education and Skills Development, Mr Kgotla Autlwetse has told Parliament. 

Mr Autlwetse said the average annual costs ranged from P392 000 per student in the United Kingdom to P73 500 in South Africa. 

Training costs in the Czech Republic, he said, were P265 000 per student while it was P21 600 at the Institute of Health Sciences and P57 480 at Boitekanelo College. 

He said 241 students graduated in pharmacy in the last five years, 166 with Diploma and 75 with Degrees. 

The assistant minister, however, said his ministry was unable to ascertain the number of graduates who returned to Botswana as some found their way back overseas after they were repatriated. 

He said the process of repatriation was facilitated by provision of allowances and thus some might take the repatriation allowance and disappear. 

The assistant minister said most of the countries had a confidentiality clause, which did not allow access of information to a third party. 

He pointed out that establishing a school of pharmacy at the University of Botswana would not necessarily translate to cheaper programme. 

“This is because the unit cost for health related programmes is generally high given the specialised nature of set up required for infrastructure and human capital,” he said.

However, he said the prospect of establishing a pharmacy programme was under consideration. 

Boteti East MP, Mr Sethomo Lelatisitswe had asked minister to state the cost of sponsorship for pharmacy students per year and the countries they were trained. 

MP Lelatisitswe also wanted to know the number of students who graduated in the past five years and who did not return to Botswana. 

He also asked the minister whether it would not be cheaper to start the pharmacy programme at UB School of Medicine. ENDS