23 Jul 2013

Government is pursuing a project to turn Botswana into a centre for education excellence, the Minister of Education and Skills Development, Dr Pelonomi Venson-Moitoi has said.

In a brief meeting with UNESCO secretary general's in Gaborone on Tuesday, Dr Venson-Moitoi said government valued investment in human resources through quality education. The secretary-generals are in the country for a three-day UNESCO national commissions of Southern Africa sub-regional capacity building seminar.

“We are working in the direction of setting Botswana up as a centre for education excellence. As a landlocked country, we need to develop our human resources. This is why we are focusing on quality education,” the minister said. She said there had been a shift in the education policy of Botswana with academics going hand-in-hand with skills development as government endeavoured to improve the quality of education. 

Minister Venson Moitoi pointed out that hosting the seminar offered the Botswana government an opportunity to showcase its commitment to high standards of education and human resources development.

Countries making up the UNESCO national commissions Southern Africa sub-region included Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

UNESCO national commissions of Southern Africa sub-region had organised capacity building activities over the years in order to share and learn experiences from each other. The seminar would also afford Southern Africa national commissions the opportunity to discuss regional participation and prioritisation of activities by member states.

One of UNESCO’s priorities is the attainment of quality education for all and lifelong learning as well as building inclusive knowledge societies through information and communication. ENDS