22 Oct 2025

 Molepolole College of Education (MCE) will today celebrate 40 years of academic excellence. 

The secondary teachers training college offering a three-year diploma courses, received its first group of 160 trainers in March 1985.

The Minister of Higher Education, Mr Prince Maele is expected to be the guest of honour at the event. Reflecting on the college milestones and achievements since opening its doors 40 years ago, the organising committee publicity officer, Mr Thapelo Letsebe said for the  past 40 years the college had produced remarkable leaders who had a positive impact within the Molepolole community and Botswana as a whole.

Mr Letsebe said the likes of Kgosi Kgari III, Assistant Minister of Child Welfare and Basic Education, Mr Justin Hunyepa, veteran scribe Mr Gideon Nkala, as well as football legends such as City Senne, and Brown Gasemotho were some of the alumni of MCE.

As one of the built up activities to the 40^th anniversary, MCE honoured one of its most distinguished alumni, Mr Mmala Oefile, an art educator, national art champion and cultural trail blazer.

Mr Oefile graduated from MCE in 2004 with a Diploma in Secondary Education (Art) and rose to prominence in 2017, becoming champion of the President’s Day National Art Competition under the category of ceramic.

In 2019, he took a courageous step, applying for a six-month unpaid leave while he was based in Francistown as a teacher, returning to his home village of Molepolole with an ambitious idea of breaking the Guinness World Record for the largest baked clay pot in the world.

Mr Oefile gathered a team of eight men and together they formed ‘The Big Pot of Africa,’ a monumental clay pot named, Samokgolo, and successfully breaking the Guinness World Record, replacing the previous title holder from Poland. The iconic Samokgolo seats comfortably at Kgosi Sechele I Museum in Molepolole. BOPA