25 Feb 2019

Ngamiland community has been challenged to take advantage of the Botswana Open University (BOU) to enhance their education and life-long learning.

BOU vice chancellor, Dr Daniel Tau, said this during unveiling of a brand mark named Thamalakane Lifelong Learning Centre at Maun regional campus. 

He stated that the facility presented an opportunity for the residents to access quality education and training within their community. Dr Tau stressed the need to increase enrollment in tertiary education noting that it stood at 20 per cent across the country when compared to other countries such as South Korea where 90 per cent of the population enrolled in tertiary education. The Maun campus accouned for 10 per cent of the overall annual enrolment and only eight per cent of the university’s enrolment.

“You will agree with me that these figures may not justify the investment the government has made towards establishment of this campus. Nonetheless, we remain hopeful that the scenario will change for the better as we note the increasing of technology-enabled tertiary programmes offered at the campus attracting more students from as far as Namibia,” Dr Tau added. He said the low enrollment was not good for the country’s socio-economic status. 

“Currently, Botswana is rated a middle-income economy and with the launching of the facility we aim to be a high-income country in future,” he said. Currently, the campus had over 1 500 students through a network of 14 learning centres.

Through the campus, Dr Tau said, BOU conveyed and spoke to its desire to uplift lives of the people in the district by offering them an opportunity to study through the open and distance learning methodology unique to the open university.

Dr Tau explained that BOU gave the community an opportunity to study at the comfort of their homes and offices since it used open distance learning approach to deliver instruction to students who were not physically present in a traditional educational setting.

The facility offered flexibility for people from all walks of life and circumstances to access affordable quality programmes with limited restrictions in terms of age and more accommodative entry requirements including recognition of prior learning.

In addition, he revealed that Maun Regional Campus was one of the five BOU campuses across the country ensured that services were brought closer to the people, allowing for extensive geographical penetration that removed distance as a barrier to learning.

The vice-chancellor was confident that through the virtual learning network that linked the main headquarters in Gaborone and the five regional campuses, Batswana would increasingly enjoy diverse offerings through reputable local and international academics.

For BOU to grow and sustain Maun Campus a vibrant learning environment, Dr Tau observed that it required not only full participation of the people of Maun but commitment from the local authorities and political leaders to promote the university’s products and services.

Maun Campus regional director, Ms Boipelo Kesamang said the launch of BOU in Maun was one of the series of the resultant milestone of the university intended to elucidate the facility’s significance, purpose and its role in the educational landscape of Botswana. She expressed happiness that the name Thamalakane Lifelong Learning Centre was picked by the local authorities and communities in and around Maun through a consultative process and was derived based on its indigenous significance and relevance.

The facility extends across the panhandle through Maun and stretches to cover part of the Central District from Rakops to Gweta villages and surrounding settlements. Ms Kesamang said the facility also support learners in diverse circumstances, some who were inmates at Boro and Maun Prisons. ends