22 Mar 2018

Minister of Tertiary Education, Research, Science and Technology, Dr Alfred Madigele told MPs that there was need to review Botswana Qualification Authority (BQA) Act to ensure that accreditation of all professional programmes took into account endorsement of other relevant bodies.

This, he said was because other programmes were run without taking into account approval or consent of other endorsement bodies, which created a vacuum in the accreditation process.

He further said the process of accreditation was a tedious exercise and had been in evolution for years.

Dr Madigele further said rationalisation of programmes was also vital because this would generate more money from research institutions that are fragmented across various ministries.

“This would improve coordination of various research institutions because the national research agenda would be able to coordinate all these under the same roof in order to utilise money more effectively to government,” he said.

Dr Madigele further acknowledged that living allowance was not enough, but noted that budget for tertiary education had been stagnant for the past five years while a significant number of students kept emerging from senior secondary schools.

“We should be able to strike a balance in that we need to keep increasing a number of students that we absorb into tertiary education facilities, but at the same time we should not let students suffer,” he said.

He also said there was a number of allowances paid to students such as stationery allowance, on-campus allowance and special equipment allowances and protective clothing in some instances.

“But we will indeed put on a study to monitor the situation because we are aware of the standard of living in this country,” he said.

Earlier on before debates, the Leader of House and Vice President, Mr Mokgweetsi Masisi said ministry of tertiary education was critical to the country, given the country’s demographic transition.

He said he was keen on tutelage of BITRI because there was potential for development of educational and manufacturing value chain industries and clustering of economic activities.

“We will plant that seed by injecting P60 million for these projects,” he said.

Mr Masisi, who is also MP for Moshupa-Manyana further said it must be clear that the challenges of accreditation, quality and standards were not an event, but an issue of overtime process.

This, he said with regards to insinuations that the integrity of CEOs in a different parastatal were questionable as they were not delivering.

“This might be cheap talk because these people are not appointed on partisan politics,” he said.

Earlier on, Ghanzi North MP, Mr Noah Salakae said most of private tertiary institutions were bogus.

He further said the integrity of CEOs appointed to most parastatals such as BQA were questionable because they were not undertaking any quality assurance.

Francistown South MP, Mr Wynter Mmolotsi said private tertiary institutions that were run in shopping complexes should be looked into.

He said most of students from such institutions proceed without receiving results from previous semesters.

“I urge you to send a delegation to such institutions such as Mega Size because in some instances students are expelled without any explanations. Some courses are not even approved or accredited,” he said.

“Moving forward let us not send any children to schools without accredited courses,” he said.

He gave an example of the paramedics students with High National Diplomas and Degrees saying their qualifications were not recognised.

MP for Molepolole South, Dr Tlamelo Mmatli said unqualified lecturers were a cause for concern because the situation had impacted negatively on the education system.

He said Department of Tertiary Education Financing should strive to sponsor more young people, adding that education was the only gateway to good opportunities.

He further said living allowances were inadequate to facilitate learning as P1 400 has been maintained for the past five years eventhough it got depleted by inflation and other living costs.

“I call for timeous payments of these allowances because students are suffering,” he said.

Gabane-Mmankgodi MP, Maj Gen. Pius Mokgware called for an increase and timely allowances to students as most of them use it for paying rented accommodation.

He further said quality of institutions was a disaster as most of them lacked facilities such as laboratories and that the quality of learning was far below par.

He further said BQA was not doing regular inspections and that he suspected that the ‘organisation does not have the right personnel to do the job.’

MP for Boteti West, Mr Slumber Tsogwane said it was important that government put more emphasis on research, especially with regards to use of indigenous materials to ensure they do not vanish.

Mr Tsogwane called on the ministry to encourage research that focuses on the use of solar energy.

He was delighted that BoU was a fully-fledged university and that it should not be down rated. “One should enroll with BoU out of choice and for distance education,” he said.

Selebi Phikwe MP, Mr Dithapelo Keorapetse said he had no hope for improvement of private institutions as they continued to operate unlawfully without any action enforced on them.

He said most of the private institutions were run without adequate facilities and qualified staff. “Graduates from these bogus institutions cannot get employment from anywhere because their qualifications are not recognised,” he said.

He further called on government to sponsor post graduates learners, adding that most graduates with degrees were without employment, noting that those should be considered for post graduate courses.

Jwaneng-Mabutsane MP, Mr Shaun Ntlhaile said he was concerned about unqualified lecturers who were overwhelmed by work that they were not qualified for.

He called on government to ensure BQA performed to standards because a huge number of students who graduated did unaccredited courses.

“Let us also enroll more students in government institutions to curb this problem,” he said. ENDS