01 May 2017

Minister of Tertiary Education, Research, Science and Technology Dr Alfred Madigele has hailed Dr Musawenkosi Saurombe for placing the country on the world map after acquiring a PHD at just 23 years of age.

This puts her among the few to achieve such a feat in academia the world over.

Speaking during a luncheon, which he hosted to honour the young scholar, the minister appreciated Dr Saurombe who schooled in Botswana from elementary levels until A-Levels and recently graduated from North West University in South Africa with a Doctor of Philosophy in Industrial Psychology.

He congratulated Dr Saurombe on her achievement adding that she was the epitome of success that young people should emulate. He said the young achiever was a product of Botswana’s education system which had moulded her to become what she was today hence the need to acknowledge that.

Dr Saurombe, who has made headlines in the media worldwide as Africa’s youngest PHD holder said it was not an easy road as it required the highest form of discipline and drive.

She said during her elementary levels, she had skipped grades based on her competence and she excelled throughout her schooling. Dr Saurombe schooled at Phakalane Primary School, Legae Primary School and Legae Academy where she gained education grounding.

She said to be successful required a strong character, resilience and discipline.

 “Don’t blame anybody for your failure. We need to capitalise on circumstances that come our way and value the people who are strategically placed in our lives,” she said.

She said it was important for young people to know that ‘it is possible to achieve anything that we put our mind to’ and a positive attitude should be placed at the forefront. She said it was important to understand that anything was possible.

“The world owes you nothing; God places things within our reach. He does not place them in our hand. So go out there and get what you want,” she said.

The young scholar, who aspires to become a professor before she turns 30 years of age said, for anything she did, she relied on God and trusted that what she could not do God would do it for her, “I do what I can do to the best of my ability and what I cannot God completes it for me,” she said.

She said she was a member of the Golden Key Honour Society in the United States of America which honours top scholars around the world by invitation and had presentations lined up in various countries.
Permanent secretary in the Ministry of Tertiary Education, Research, Science and Technology, Dr Theophilus Mooko thanked Dr Saurombe’s parents.

He said parents were important stakeholders in the education system and the support they gave their children was critical to their success.

He said as Botswana moved from a resource based economy to a knowledge based one, it was critical to acknowledge that government schools also had a provision for skipping grades when a child exhibited exceptional academic prowess.

“In public education, the policy allows for that, we need to take the risk,” he said. ENDS