05 Mar 2017

Assistant Minister of Tertiary Education, Research, Science and Technology, Mr Fidelis Molao has told Parliament that his ministry is amenable to establishing a satellite college of BIUST at Selebi Phikwe.
He stated that he was in position to get down to specific details with respect to the college that could be established there.
Mr Molao noted that ‘apart from the disciplines of Geology and Mining Engineering, there are possibilities for other specialisations such as environmental sciences, earth sciences and other fields of engineering.’
The assistant minister stated that they were currently looking at available options with respect to the rationalisation of public tertiary education institutions.
He said it was important to establish the critical synergies and complementariness that could result in an efficient tertiary education system.
He indicated that the exercise covered all public institutions namely BIUST, University of Botswana and the University of Agriculture and Natural Resources (BUAN).
Mr Molao said all institutions offered basic sciences and engineering related programmes.
In addition, he said both BIUST and UB had geology and mining engineering programmes adding that as a result they needed to look holistically at how they could rationalise the offering of some of these programmes.
He said as part of the exercise they were also looking at how the reconfiguration could cater for the resuscitation of Selebi Phikwe.
MP for Selebi Phikwe West, Mr Dithapelo Keorapetse had asked the minister if government was amenable to relocating the department of mining and geological engineering of the college of engineering and technology at BIUST from Palapye to Selebi Phikwe for the purpose of establishing BIUST Selebi Phikwe campus in line with the resuscitation of the town’s economy. ENDS