08 Jul 2019

Assistant Minister of Health and Wellness, Mr Sethomo Lelatisitswe says Botswana advocates for a knowledge based economy, being able to produce entrepreneurs who think outside the box.

Speaking at Institute of Health Sciences (IHS) Serowe student awards ceremony in Serowe recently, he noted that growth of tertiary education in Botswana would add value to the health system of knowledge economy.

He said by producing such caliber of healthcare providers meant that Botswana could be recognised in the global market as efficient in health service provision.“We are aware of the good work that the health training institutions are doing in the production of quality health resources”, he said. He further mentioned that the IHS Serowe health products compared well with those in the global area and were nationally, internationally marketable.

Mr Lelatisitswe noted that the award ceremony was meant to motivate student’s academic performance and instill a sense of commitment in their studies.

“This endeavor goes a thousand miles in making the students realise their potential as leaners and capitalise on becoming marketable in the future”, he said.

He stated that IHS-Serowe would become an institute of choice in providing quality health training through its mission of producing competent and globally competitive health human resources.

Mr Lelatisitswe indicated that the award ceremony was not only for learners, but also served as an important reference for lecturers as they acknowledged their effort towards realising their mandate.

He further said the endeavor was also geared towards orientating new students to take academic work seriously in order to excel in all spheres of the academic world.

He appreciated IDM and IHS collaboration in the student awards.

Serowe IHS principal, Ms Tebogo Morolong told the gathering that the institution was challenged financial constraints to hold students and staff awards  every year.

She said last year they managed to hold the ceremony after contribution from the staff and the students, while this year they were assisted by the business community and IDM.

She said integration of subjects should be prioritised, and further advised that students should not be exposed to isolated content but should be taught the relationship between one subject and another.

As part of the reward menu, she revealed that the institutions would start rewarding staff and students at unit and departmental levels before the annual awards. Students were awarded for outstanding academic performances as well as sports excellence. ENDS