03 Mar 2014

The Botswana Qualification Authority (BQA) has warned school leavers and the general public wishing to pursue tertiary studies to be vigilant when selecting schools for further training to guard against unscrupulous institutions.

In an interview, the BQA communication and public education officer, Mr Mmona Tshweu, said they were investigating three complaints about institutions that were suspected to be operating without accreditation.

Mr Tshweu said it was imperative for people to ensure that they enrolled with institutions and for programmes that were accredited by BQA. He said some of the institutions were accredited but their programmes were not approved.

He said legal action would be taken against suspected wrongdoers after completion of the investigations. In some cases, he said, an institution would be ordered to stop operating immediately and to refund the learners.

He noted that unscrupulous institutions disadvantaged learners because the latter would have lost time studying courses that were not quality assured. In other cases, such institutions would be prosecuted for violating the law. The BQA could also publish the names of institutions that operated illegally.

“At the same time we cannot allow the learners to continue studying courses that are not quality assured and will not be recognized anyway,” he warned.

He explained that illegal schools existed partly because potential learners and their parents as well as the public were not vigilant about where students enrolled and they failed to inform BQA about the accreditation status of such institutions. However, he said, the main reason for Illegal operation of institutions was that people wanted to take advantage of desperate learners.

“As in any other regulated sector, there will always be people who do not want to comply as this requires more effort and resources on the part of the applicant,” he said. ENDS