Masisi cautions educators against laxity
Innocent Selatlhwa | Tuesday May 10, 2022 06:00
The President said although commendable progress has been made towards improving the education sector, there are still several challenges the country is facing.
These he said include, amongst others, the unemployment rate amongst graduates and the pervasive mismatch, as shared by the private sector, of skills produced by the education system vis-à-vis the needs of the economy.
“I should hasten to add that the quality of the programme offerings has the potential to inadvertently undermine, or ultimately shape the quality of skills sets required in the job market necessary to improve our national economy. Therefore, despite the commercial drive of the college, there should be no laxity and compromise in the aim of maintaining high educational standards that are internationally recognised and validated by the Botswana Qualifications Authority (BQA),” he said.
Masisi said that just as the government is committed to doing all in its power to safeguard the future of citizens of this country, by providing budgetary support and student sponsorship through the Grant Loan Scheme, the same level of commitment should be expected from the leaders and directors of institutions, teachers and learners alike.
The First Citizen also praised Boitekanelo College for its Corporate Social Responsibility efforts.
“As part of its commitment to fighting the spread of COVID-19, the college, at the height of the pandemic, donated to the government the sum of P250,000. The college also offered two ambulances to be used for medical emergencies and deployed its staff to assist in the ongoing vaccination rollout programme. I wish to take this moment to recognise and commend Rre (Tiroyaone) Mampane and his team for their efforts. In conclusion, I want to congratulate the Boitekanelo College team, on reaching this milestone. We celebrate you for your achievements and we look forward to many more in years to come,” he said.
For his part, health minister, Dr Edwin Dikoloti said Boitekanelo College is a symbol of commitment and perseverance by a team of patriotic Batswana who want to see the health of the people of the country becoming better.
“I understand that Boitekanelo College is the first ever (pioneer) privately-owned healthcare institution in Botswana; and not only that, but also that some of the programmes we see in Botswana like paramedic training, occupational health and safety, clinical technology, and nutrition and dietetics were all introduced by this important college in Botswana. This has really added value to Botswana’s education system. We salute you Boitekanelo College for your contribution to the development of this country and the health sector in particular,” he said.