19 Nov 2018

Academic graduations are Minister of Tertiary Education, Research, Science and Technology’s milestone towards achieving its mandate of contributing significantly to building a knowledgeable society.

Officiating at ABM University graduation ceremony on November 17, Minister Ngaka Ngaka said this was in line with the Botswana Tertiary Education Policy, which advocates for a knowledgeable society.

He noted that the theme: The Role of Highier Education in Socio-economic Development - Working Towards a Knowledge-based Economy, was relevant to the occasion as it apprehended government’s focus on knowledge-creation for socio-economic growth.

Minister Ngaka told the audience that it was therefore imperative that higher education institutions such as ABM come up with robust strategies in training research and development with the aim of producing competent graduates who fit in the global knowledge economy.

He attested that tertiary education had a key role to play in laying the foundation for the subsequent development of Botswana as an innovative knowledge-driven economy.

He said this provided for the first value proposition for the sector as a key driver of the Botswana’s economic development.

A second value proposition is that tertiary education yields significant value to its individual recipient and provides a broad pay-off to the society as a whole.

Minister Ngaka also alluded to the fact that in the area of research and innovation, tertiary education system had to play a vital role in transforming the economy into an innovative society and urged ABM management to take cognizance of this and assist government in realising its goal of achieving ‘prosperity for all’ as espoused by Vision 2036.

Meanwhile, addressing the graduates, he said the fate of Botswana as a knowledge society in the 21^st century rests in the talent, diligence and tenacity of them as young people to be willing to embrace the opportunities and challenges that come with the transformation as ingrained in the Tertiary Education Policy.

He urged them to explore many opportunities that government had in place. 

This include exploring opportunities at the Innovation Hub, particularly the Innovation Fund that was recently launched. 

In addition he urged them to continue advancing their education as the National Human Resource Development Strategy advocates for lifelong learning. ENDS