26 Feb 2017

Francistown City councillors have expressed dissatisfaction over the closing down of the Francistown College of Education (FCE).

Responding to an address by officials from Botswana College of Distance and Open Learning (BOCODOL) during a full council meeting recently, Councilor Lesego Kwambala of Itekeng said since the institution’s closure, they had not been given a proper update on  what would happen to the facility.

BOCODOL Francistown regional director, Mr Monty Moswela informed councillors that relevant  authorities were still handling the issue and would provide an update at the right time. Mr Moswela said BOCODOL had been using the offices in the college  while awaiting the construction of their own campus.

Central Ward councillor,  Mr Ephraim Maiketso urged BOCODOL to make use of their allocated land at Gerald Estate to build an institution, which he said would be conducive for both the community and the learners. He said they should make use of local authorities to educate the community on how they could benefit from the programmes they offered as some people were uninformed about the institution.

For his part, Somerset East Councillor, Mr Joe Gunda urged BOCODOL to introduce day classes to accommodate those who wished to attend during the day.

Mr Bonnie Bashe, BOCODOL corporate relations and marketing director, urged companies to take advantage of their short courses so as to empower their employees saying the had offices in  Gaborone, Francistown, Kang, Palapye and Maun.

He further urged councillors to take advantage of the distance learning because it was flexible, affordable and gave them ample time to study while working,. ENDS