12 Nov 2025

Botswana Prison Service (BPS) Staff College in Mahalapye has been accredited to offer Diploma in Prison and Correctional Management. 

Launching the registration and accreditation of the College on November 11, the Minister for Justice and Correctional Services, Mr Nelson Ramaotwana said the occasion was a historic milestone in the national educational and correctional journey. 

He said it was not just an achievement but a mark of transformation. The minister said the innovative learning programmes was designed to reshape correctional education in Botswana. 

He said the registration, accreditation and academic innovation signaled the firm commitment to delivering high quality, relevant and impactful education within the correctional sector. 

Mr Ramaotwana mention that it also reflected their alignment with both national human capital development strategies and international standards of excellence. 

He started that the college mission remained clear and compelling to design and implement effective training programmes for pre-service and in service trainees in prison law, security, offender rehabilitation and correctional management with the aim of capacitating staff for efficient delivery on their mandate. 

Mr Ramaotwana also said the mission resonateed deeply with Botswana’s transformation agenda, national human capital strategies and vision 2036. 

He said as their correctional system evolved from a purely custodial model to one rounded rehabilitation, reintegration and human development, the Prison Staff College stood as a beacon of the professional excellence and reform. 

Minister Ramaotwana added that the official registration and accreditation of this institution by Botswana Qualifications Authority (BQA) as a recognised education and training provider was both a badge of honour and a solemn responsibility. 

He said it also assured that the offered programmes met national and international quality benchmarks, adding that the qualifications were aligned with the national Credit and Qualification Framework (NCQF), therefore graduates would emerge competent, ethical and globally competitive. 

“Together, let us continue to build a Botswana where no one is left behind, where learning transforms lives and where every qualification contributes to the growth of our nation,” said Mr Ramaotwana. 

He said the initiative promoted equitable and inclusive lifelong learning opportunities for all, especially those serving within the justice and correctional sectors. Mr Ramaotwana added that it reinforced the principle that education was not only a tool for advancement but a bridge toward dignity, rehabilitation and reintegration. 

Botswana Prison Service Commissioner, Anthony Mokento said the introduction of the Diploma training in prison and correctional management was a transformational step in professionalising the correctional service. 

Mr Mokento said the qualification was designed to enhance leadership, policy understanding, and operational excellence among correctional officers, thereby ensuring that the workforce was equipped to deliver services that met modern societal expectations of justice and rehabilitation. 

 Mr Mokento mentioned that beyond the diploma training, their learning programmes ranged from offender rehabilitation methodologies to correctional administration, custodial duties and security management tailored to empower both pre-services and in-services learners. ENDS