30 Oct 2017

Ministry of Transport and Communications (MTC) will not cease its connection with the Roads Training Centre (RTC) when the latter is rationalised to the Ministry of Tertiary Education Research and Technology.

The rationalisation will not mean that MTC or roads department no longer have anything to do with engineers from the centre, but that MTC will continue to have interest in courses done by RTC both for long and short term training.
Giving a keynote address at the RTC graduation of 162 students in Gaborone, deputy permanent secretary for the ministry, Mr Isaac Moepeng reaffirmed that the relationship would continue to exist.

He said in 2013, it was directed that RTC be moved to the Ministry of Tertiary Education Research Science and Technology as per a recommendation by the then Tertiary Education Council

This was in response to RTC’s application for letter of Interim Authority as per the Tertiary Education Act (1999) and in the wider interest of both the RTC and Tertiary Education system.

“Regrettably the process has been slow, and I wish to announce that we are resuscitating it,” he said.

Mr Moepeng said the government was aware of lack of jobs in the market and was addressing it.

He noted that the Ministry of Youth Empowerment, Sport and Culture Development, in conjunction with other ministries had been assigned to ensure that schemes such the Local Procurement Scheme and the Citizen Economic Empowerment Policy favour young people.

Meanwhile, the Student Representative Council chairperson, Mr Tebatso Batsheleng said the biggest challenge faced by RTC was apparent detachment of RTC from other divisions of Roads Department and lack of full accreditation of the Diploma programme.

He urged the Roads Department to accredit the programme because today’s roads and construction leadership had been associated with RTC.

Mr Batsheleng said RTC had been misplaced. “We were informed in 2015 that RTC will be part of BUIST by April 2016, a thing that we student commended but that has not happened”.

Furthermore, he said, “As youth of RTC we are not included in the Ministry of youth, which empowers youth and this detachment makes us miss opportunities.”

The SRC chairperson said they have only 14 full time lecturers at RTC and Field Training Unit (FTU), but they needed at least 30. He said transfers of academic staff had worsened, incapacitated and affected teaching at the centre.

Meanwhile, the Department of Roads director, Mr Modisa Segokgo said the centre as a division of the department had been experiencing challenges of being run as an institution while it does not fall under the ministry of education.

He said it became apparent that it should move to a ministry responsible for education at the earliest possible time.

Mr Segokgo said of the 162 students who graduated, 52 received the Highway Engineering Technician Diplomas, 26 received the Roads Technician Certificates and 84 received Heavy Plant Operator Certificates. BOPA