02 Jul 2019

Assistant Minister of Tertiary Education, Research, Science and Technology Mr Moiseraela Goya has emphasised the need to ensure that all public higher education providers reflect sound institutional governance to build a strong research base for the generation of knowledge.

When launching the Botswana Open University (BOU) 2036 strategic framework and the 2019-2023 strategic plan in Gaborone recently, Mr Goya noted that improvement of the university’s international standing by working on collaborative ventures with intentionally reputed universities and research institutions was important.

He said the university was in the right direction as highlighted by some of the discourses emanating from the strategy as it would be discussed, which included the adoption of new teaching models to promote lifelong learning, flexible learning, continuous professional development and enhancement of quality assurance.

He said as espoused in the Educational Training Sector Plan, the world of higher education complemented and sustained educational efforts at the lower levels of pre-primary through to secondary education.

Minister Goya advised BOU to be conscious of the expectation and play its complementary role.

In her welcome remarks, acting chairperson of BOU Council Festina Bakwena said as they set out to develop the 2036 framework they kept in mind the country’s commitment to a knowledge-based society enabling prosperity for all.

“This framework provides the road map towards our Vision of being globally recognised for providing quality education through open and distance learning,” she added.

She said the framework was prepared building on the Council’s experience from the formative years of the institution, taking account of the dynamic operating environment and the challenges it posed to the University.

She explained that the idea was to provide strategies and mechanisms that responded adequately to the challenges and expected changes.

Presenting the BOU 2036 Strategic Framework and the 2019-2023 Strategic Plan, BOU Vice Chancellor Daniel Tau said BOU was joining the league of Universities at a time that was characterised by a wave of turbulence and disruption occasioned by what futurists and commentators in the higher education space enumerate in a certain way.

“The framework and the plan bring intense and democratisation of knowledge and access that will drive a global education revolution of a scale never seen before, creating both new opportunities and challenges,” he said.

He said the relationship between the higher education sector and industry would deepen, with industry emerging as both a key partner and a competitor in the specialist professional programmes’ space.

The Vice Chancellor said the grand intent was to build consensus towards the evolution of the university to the year 2036 when Botswana envisaged being a high-income country.

He concluded that the framework would be concretised through shorter-term strategic plans aligned to National Development Plans and that way it would be easy to contribute to national development and leverage opportunities precipitated by the various phases of Botswana’s evolution.

Appreciating the ceremony, BOU Chancellor and former vice president Dr Ponatshego Kedikilwe commended the Council and Management for the courage to demonstrate innovation and novelty at the early stages of the university’s development.

He, however, highlighted that as a new institution without precedent, BOU had to go an extra mile of justifying its relevance by sending reasoned mental pictures into the hearts and souls of planners, sponsors and general stakeholders in order to mute doubts and make a case for appropriate support.

“BOU is a national project of a significant magnitude, requiring not only those who are in direct leadership of the University to implement, but all of us as a collective,” he said. Ends