24 Sep 2017

Student Representative Council (SRC) leaders have been advised to lead fellow students to greater heights with integrity so that they can contribute to the economic development of the country.

This was said by the Human Resource Development Council (HRDC) chief executive officer, Dr Raphael Dingalo at a two-day student leadership training and mentoring workshop in Gaborone on September 20.

He said students played a critical role in human capital development as they are considered future leaders, hence the need to lead them in the correct paths.

Dr Dingalo said that it was the mandate of the HRDC to coordinate efforts by all parties involved in developing Botswana’s human capital.

“We cannot start the human capital simply by looking at the end products being workers in the industry, this is a pipeline starting from early childhood through primary, secondary and tertiary schools up until they become workers,” he said.

Dr Dingalo said students faced a lot of challenges that required their leaders to tackle them because being a good leader is determined by what they do to solve such challenges.

He advised SRC leaders to take advantage of the training workshop as it would nurture them and equip them with leadership skills.

The HRDC chief called upon the leaders not to confine themselves to challenges faced by their institution, but to include those faced by the country and help overcome such challenges.

He further advised the SRC leaders to paint a vision of the future that they wanted to take their students to.

He said it was vital to always seek the positives in people and avoid always using the negativity that comes their way.

Further, Dr Dingalo said it was critical for student leaders to gather necessary facts and communicate them with students about their goals, performances, successes and failures as this would allow them to make informed and decisive choices.

For her part, the director of Human Resource Development Planning Supply for the HRDC, Dr Ellah Matshediso said the workshop was meant to assist in moulding young leaders who to be able to sustain institutions and become transformative leadership agents.

She encouraged the SRC leaders to use the training to the best of their abilities, as it aimed at sharpening their leadership skills to become positive leaders of their institutions.

She explained that their success was determined by positively engaging with their management and carrying out negotiations that would benefit the students. ENDS