06 Jul 2023

DDT College of Medicine at Gaphatshwa campus is currently using porter cabins as classrooms whilst construction of permanent structures was still ongoing on the site.

Answering a parliamentary question, Minister of Education and Skills Development Dr Douglas Letsholathebe said the campus was a new site.

 He said the college was registered and accredited by Botswana Qualification Authority (BQA) as an education and training provider (ETP) in September 2018 after satisfying all the requirements for registration and accreditation, which would expire in 2028.

He noted that BQA inspected the college’s new site in April and the report revealed non-compliance as it discovered that the land use was designated for horticultural purposes.

He also said there was no evidence of health inspections having been conducted by the relevant authority and that there was no occupation issued by the town council. Dr Letsholathebe also said his ministry was not aware of any labour cases registered with the Department of Labour against the college and BQA.

He noted that according to BQA standards, the Students Representative Council (SRC) was part of the ETP’s governance structure which qualified an ETP for accreditation.

He said BQA met the SRC during their inspection of the ETP and that no complaints were raised by the council regarding their teaching and learning conditions.

Sefhare/Ramokgomani MP, Dr Kesitegile Gobotswang had asked the minister to update Parliament on the conditions of teaching and learning at DDT College of Medicine at Gaphatshwa campus.

He also wanted to know if the minister was aware of the condition of teaching and learning facilities at the college and whether BQA had accredited the college to provide teaching and learning under the circumstances. Dr Gobotswang further wanted to know when the last inspection by BQA was conducted, the results, and the number of cases of DDT labour cases registered with the Department of Labour or pending before associated institutions.

The minister was to further  state the status of SRC in championing the interests of students, and the remedial action the minister would put in place to address the challenges besieging DDT College of Medicine. ENDs