13 Jul 2016

Attendants at the ongoing BOLESAWNA 16^th Biennial Educational Symposium held at University of Botswana (UB) have been informed that Botswana is currently reforming its education and training sector.

Speaking during  a reception dinner on Tuesday, acting chief executive officer of Botswana Qualifications Authority (BQA) Mr Josius Maluzo said these reforms have led to the establishment of BQA and Human resource Development Council (HRDC), as well as transforming the mandate of the Botswana Examinations Council (BEC).

The HRDC mandate, he said, is to plan and fund human resource development while BQA is responsible for developing the National Credit and Qualifications Framework, quality assurance of education and training at all levels and guiding the development of programmes in line with the industry expressed national and global skills needs.

Mr Maluzo therefore it is evident that Batswana, through the Ministry of Education and Skills Development is committed to developing a robust education and training system that is comparable to regional and international standards.

Meanwhile he said the quality of education institutions has become a major challenge across the world. 

This is so despite the significance that higher education is given within the context of socio-economic development. 

He noted that higher education is perceived by many as the engine that drives the economy through the provision of knowledge, skill and competencies that are used to develop economies.

Furthermore, he noted, research has shown that higher education should go beyond providing education for the general development of individuals but also incorporate employability of graduating students who are self-starters and adaptable to work situations. 

He therefore said the need for collaboration between higher education institutions and employers here and in the region to ensure quality, relevance and equity cannot be overemphasised.

In the meantime Mr Maluzo said Botswana like most countries has issues of unemployment, job-skills mismatch, poor productivity, limited access, equity and not so friendly work ethics mainly because the curriculum is lacking on soft skills.

The BQA chief thus said he was hopeful that this symposium will assist attendants to learn from each other and assist one another strategies and improve the quality of education and training through the development of quality standards that address the needs of the industry and learners.

BQA is currently doing a baseline study to assess achievements so far, gaps and challenges. 

This study will to a large extent influence the BQA strategy.

 The study will cover both formal and informal economic sectors and will therefore address issues of Recognition of Prior Learning among others. ENDS