10 Nov 2026

Graduate employability must be treated as a shared responsibility, says Acting Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Higher Education, Professor Agreement Jotia.

Marking the launch of the Botswana University of Agriculture and Natural Resources (BUAN) Connect Software and UPSCALE Project Awareness in Gaborone  recently, Prof Jotia said universities, government, employers, professional bodies and graduates have an important role to play.

Prof Jotia said collaboration was essential if they were to improve the transition from education to productive participation in the economy.

He further said the Ministry of Higher Education recognised that the value of higher education extended beyond the award of qualification.

Prof Jotia added that institutions must produce graduates who were knowledgeable, adaptable, innovative, entrepreneurial and equipped to respond to changing economic and societal needs.

He said collecting graduate employment data was not an end in itself, but the information must be analysed and used to improve curricula, strengthen career services, guide partnerships and address identified skills gaps.

He also said sustainability must be built into the initiative from the outset, hence BUAN Connect should not remain a project activity depending solely on external funding.

“The University should work toward embedding the platform and its associated services within its institutional systems, with clear responsibilities for continued operation and improvement. These priorities are important because the ultimate beneficiaries of this initiative must be our students, graduates, employers and the wider economy. I therefore encourage the BUAN leadership, academic staff, project team, alumni and industry partners to take collective ownership of this initiative and ensure that its potential is translated into practical results,” he said.

He said the true measure of higher education institutions lied not only in the number of graduates they produced, but also in the contribution such graduates make to society and the economy.

Therefore, he said their responsibility did not end when they conferred qualifications, but should understand the journeys the graduates undertook and use that knowledge to build stronger, more responsive institutions. 

Regarding the UPSCALE Project, Prof Jotia said up-scaling graduates’ employability tracking through the implementation of Special Dual Career Paths in Botswana and eSwatini was a three-year Erasmus+ initiative co-funded by the European Union (EU) running from December 2024 to November 2027.

“It brings together institutions from Botswana, eSwatini, Slovenia, Poland and Spain in a collaborative effort to strengthen graduate employability, career guidance and the integration of higher education with the world of work,” he said.

BUAN acting Vice Chancellor, Professor Wellington Masamba said through the launch of BUAN Connect, they were taking a practical step toward improving how they engaged with graduates, understood their experience in the labour market and respond to their career development.

Prof Masamba said they recognised that the responsibility of a university extended beyond preparing students for graduation but also needed to understand  the opportunities and challenges graduates encountered and induce that knowledge to continuously improve their academic programmes, career guidance services and engagement with industry.

Therefore, he said BUAN Connect was more than a digital platform.

“It represents an opportunity to establish a stronger and more sustained relationship with our alumni while generating valuable information to guide institutional planning and enhance the employability of future graduates. The platform is being introduced under the UPSCALE Project, a three-year Erasmus initiative funded by the European Union involving institutions from Botswana, eSwatini and Europe,” he said.

He said they were looking forward to piloting the dual higher education approach through a Bachelor of Agricultural Mechanisation programme with implementation planned for August 2027, believing it would provide valuable opportunities to strengthen practical learning and deepen collaboration with the industry.  ENDS