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14 Mar 2023

Parents and teachers should encourage children to embrace technology at a young age, Lerala/Maunatlala MP Mr Sethabelo Modukanele has urged. 

He was speaking at the International Women's Day launch in Mathakola recently. 

Mr Modukanele Mathakola Primary School children would soon receive iPads for ICT learning. Botswana Communications Regulatory Authority (BOCRA) deputy director, spectrum management, Ms Basebi Mosinyi said people should not see technology and engineering as a male field, as women were also capable and could excel. She however, acknowledged that women were lagging behind when it came to innovation in the ICT, citing Facebook, Twitter, and Microsoft among others tha were ally invented by men. 

Ms Basinyi who has over 30 years of experience in the telecommunications field told fellow women that they were capable and it was possible that they could, just like male counterparts, excel as telecommunications engineers and telecommunications technicians among others. For her part, Botswana International University of Science and Technology Engineeringlecturer, Dr Bokani Ntengi also encouraged girls to pursue a career in technology engineering. 

She noted that girls had the potential, citing herself, and that she was the only female lecturer in the Faculty of Engineering when BIUST started. 

"We want to see more females in electrical engineering, telecommunications engineering and others. Currently there a few women in technology engineering field, while this is one of the areas that contribute immensely to the economic growth of the country," she said. 

As for employment opportunities, an IT officer at Lotsane Senior School, Ms Keitumetse Letsibogo said it was not bad and graduates could also earn a living out of self-employment. 

She said even those working could make extra money out of work. The theme for this year's IWD was Digital, Innovation and Technology for Gender Equality. ends