04 Aug 2015

The Assistant Minister of Education and Skills Development says 84 students have been sponsored to study pharmacy at Boitekanelo College.

Mr Kgotla Autlwetse said so far the college has not produced any graduates and the first batch of graduates was expected in August 2016.

He further said the first intake was in 2013, where 35 students were sponsored and 49 were sponsored in 2014.

Mr Autlwetse further said all graduates of pharmacy were expected to register with Botswana Health Professions Council for purposes of licensure to practice.

“The college has dedicated 14 staff members to teach the three year Higher National Diploma; two with PHD qualifications, 8 with Masters Degrees and four with Bachelors’ Degrees.”

He indicated that the projected intake for Boitekanelo College for 2015 was 60 students.

Mr Autlwetse further said the Institute of Health Sciences (IHS) Gaborone enrolls 17 students at year one, 29 at year two and 24 at year three and those numbers were influenced by staffing constraints.

He said IHS Gaborone offers Diploma in Pharmacy with 108 credits while Boitekanelo College offers Higher National Diploma in Pharmacy Technology programme with 108 credits.

“While the number of credits is the same, Boitekanelo programme offers a wider choice of courses and these include medical microbiology at year one, sexual and reproductive health services management and HIV/AIDS intervention strategies at year two and health care insurance at year three,” he said.

He further said government spends P21 600 for maintenance and an annual subvention of P15 345 260 excluding staff salaries at IHS Gaborone to train Diploma in Pharmacy, while P57 480 for maintenance and tuition was spent at Boitekanelo College to train Higher National Diploma in Pharmacy Technology.

The MP for Boteti East, Mr Sethomo Lelatisitswe had asked the minister to state the number of students who had been sponsored by government for the Pharmacy programme at Boitekanelo College and the number of students who had graduated and whether they were affiliated to Botswana Health Professions Council.

Mr Lelatisitswe also wanted the minister to state the qualifications of lecturers for the programme, the yearly intake of students as compared to that of IHS Gaborone, the difference between the curriculum offered at Boitekanelo College and IHS Gaborone and the amount government pays per student between the two institutions. Ends