02 Jul 2025

The Ministry of Higher Education  will sponsor 12 034 prospective students to pursue tertiary education.

This was said by Minister of Higher Education, Mr Maele at the launch of the 2025/2026 Tertiary Education Sponsorship Cycle in Gaborone on July 2.

He said government would this year sponsor only one sponsorship category, being new students.

The number comprises fresh applicants and upgrades in Botswana General Certificate of Secondary Education (BGCSE), as well as International General Certificate of Secondary Education (IGCSE) .

A notable  change in this years  tertiary financing is  the discontinuation of re-sponsorship  as well as limited number of students sponsored for progression, Mr Maele said.  

 “Unfortunately, re-sponsorship will not be considered. We acknowledge the outstanding re-sponsorship applications of around 4641 clients who are eligible and require re-sponsorship for the years 2003 going backwards. 

A limited number of 50 will be sponsored for progression,”  he added

Following the announcement, Minister Maele said the Student Loan Management System has been officially switched on for new students to apply for the tertiary financing sponsorship. 

He said the over P3 billion budget allocation for 2025/26 tertiary education was in alignment with Pillar One of the National Vision 2036, of Sustainable Economic Development, in particular the sub-themes of a Knowledge Based Economy and Human Capital Development.

He also added that government was reviewing top achievers programme with the view to discontinue it.

During the previous year, Mr Maele said the ministry sponsored a total of 10 180, adding that the cut-off point for sponsorship was maintained at 36 points for the mainstream applicants.

Mr Maele said the sponsorship applications would be processed through the online or e-services platform of the Student Loan Management System. 

Since its development in 2020, he said, the online platform had continued to serve clients well and had also enhanced operational efficiency.

“We are now able to process applications for all the over 12 000 applicants within a period of one month, as opposed to the previous four months.

“Response to new student application will be given immediately, as on average, an individual application is processed within an hour, including generation of the sponsorship letter,” he added. The application process will run from July 2 to July 31. ENDS