23 Jan 2017

Dialogue between Botho University and stakeholders on students’ book allowance provided by the Department of Tertiary Education Financing (DTEF) and the services of the campus bookstore is ongoing.

A press release statement from the institution states that all students sponsored by Botswana government, through DTEF, are given a book allowance every semester for the purchase of prescribed books and other academic materials apart from stationery for which a separate allowance is provided.

It states that extensive consultations were held with both the DTEF and the then student representative councils (SRC) in all Botho University campuses.

It further says on May 29, 2015, the university management and SRC presidents from all the three campuses (Gaborone, Francistown and Maun) entered into an agreement which provided that 100 per cent of the book allowance should be paid to the store book.

The press release statement further says under this agreement, all students have to purchase prescribed or recommended textbooks covering all modules in a semester.

It further says even though the text books may end up taking almost all of the book allowance, in the event there is some balance after the purchase, students are allowed to buy any other materials of their choice from the book store.

It further says the agreement was reached taking into consideration that the students should have at least one book per module for their learning and the agreement was sent to DTEF who also found this to be a prudent option in utilising the book allowance.

The press release further says the current SRC has however made representations to the university management suggesting that the current book allowance be split in half so that 50 per cent of the allowance is credited to student’s personal bank accounts to enable them to buy learning resources of their choice, while the remaining 50 per cent goes to the bookshop for purchase of prescribed books.

The statement emphasised that it is important to note that only DTEF can approve any such request since the money is disbursed by DTEF and any unused amount is returned to DTEF. 

The press release further says based on the SRC’s request, DTEF and the Ministry of Tertiary Education, Research, Science and Technology (MoTERST) have agreed to investigate and revert back to the SRC and the university with a decision on the matter.

Meanwhile, the ministry has advised the SRC that while the ministry embarks on their own investigations, operations at the bookshop should go on as usual/ normal. BOPA