21 Aug 2017

Botswana Qualification Authority (BQA) has come up with a strategy to ensure that learner guidelines are in place at all times.

 The authority will also protect the interests of learners in all events that lead to the withdrawal of a learning programme for which learners were enrolled.

The consultative meeting was held for BQA stakeholders at Avani Gaborone Resort and Casino.

The meeting was organised to go through the proposal on the protection of enrolled learner’s guidelines and to collect suggestions from stakeholders.

The director of business development at BQA, Dr Andrew Molwane said his organisation was compelled by law to design the procedures and the rules, and that it was imperative for them to come up with strategies on how to protect learners.

Dr Molwane stressed that Education and Training Providers (ETPs) should ensure that learners were provided with adequate and accurate information on learning programmes that they wished to pursue.

He also said they should  be told about the protection in place in the event that the programme was stopped prior to completion.

He said training providers should also assure learners of the opportunity to complete a learning programme leading to the qualification that they were enrolled into.

“In order for a learning programme to be accredited, an Education and Training Provider shall have in place arrangements for the protection of enrolled learners,” he said.

Dr Molwane said information on a learning programme or qualification should be made available to learners prior to accepting payment.   

He stated that ETPs that entered into agreements with their alternative peers were to submit their protection of enrolled learner arrangements at the time they submitted their learning accreditation application.  

He further stated that learners would be shielded by the protection of enrolled learner arrangements from the time the fees were paid in part or while enrolled on an accredited learning programme.

He added that it should be done until they had received an award for learning achieved or until they had been legitimately excluded from the learning programme.
“If the protection of enrolled learner arrangements need to be activated, either with an alternate ETP or with refunds, the Education and Training Provider shall inform the authority and the alternate ETP 14 days before activation,” he said.

He said providers should provide formal notification in writing to the authority and the alternate training provider.

Dr Molwane said providers have to produce a plan of action for the enrolled learners which should be communicated to the learners and must confirm to the authority that it has been done.

He advised education providers to contact each enrolled learner 14 days before activation.

He added that they must provide each learner with the plan of action for completion of the programme or arrangements involving alternate institutions. ENDS