Thapisa bows out after steering New Era College
Staff Writer | Monday September 22, 2025 08:48
His six-year reign was one of resilience, reform and survival through some of the toughest storms in higher education. A farewell luncheon was held at the institution’s Block 8 campus in Gaborone, where colleagues, council members and students gathered to honour the departing academic. A former University of Botswana academic, Thapisa was handpicked in 2019 by New Era College founder and president, Esfandiar Ghodrati, to guide the institution into its next phase.
Back then, New Era College offered only a handful of City & Guilds programmes. Today, it boasts 25 Botswana Qualifications Authority (BQA) accredited programmes across four Faculties and eyes full university status.
But the journey was anything but smooth. Barely a year into his tenure, the COVID-19 pandemic struck, forcing New Era College to abandon its heavy reliance on face-to-face teaching and make the painful pivot online, despite scepticism and limited infrastructure.
“The students told us we were not going to succeed in teaching online,” Thapisa recalled at the farewell lunch.
“But we learnt that digital transformation was not a luxury; it was survival,” he said.
The pandemic also hammered the college’s finances, leading to what Thapisa diplomatically termed “rationalisation,” a euphemism for retrenchments.
Strikes followed, with students even dragging New Era College to the High Court over examinations. Still, the institution held firm, protecting its academic integrity and winning its legal battles, albeit at a steep financial and reputational cost.
Out of the chaos came reform. Thapisa rolled out New Era College’s first comprehensive blueprint, the Strategy for Distinctive Positioning 2019–2024.
The plan set the institution apart through niches in renewable energy, STEM education, women in engineering, and industry-focused training.
Amongst the innovations was Botswana’s first six-month industry attachment programme, giving graduates a competitive edge in the job market.
As he bowed out, Thapisa thanked New Era College staff, council members and students for their support, insisting adversity had forged the institution’s resilience.
“Disruptive strikes, pandemics and restructuring became catalysts for innovation at New Era College and not threats,” he said.
He reserved special praise for Ghodrati, lauding him as an exemplary leader.
“The experience has been phenomenal. You have allowed me free rein to run your institution without any interference from you. You have neither raised your voice nor hand at me, and as a result, we have never quarrelled or fought over anything,” he said.
For his part, Ghodrati hailed Thapisa as a visionary who “transformed the college into a vibrant institution with a firm foundation for the future.”
To immortalise his contribution, New Era College announced the creation of the Professor Amos Thapisa Scholarship, to be awarded annually to a deserving student.
As the curtain falls on his tenure, Prof Thapisa leaves New Era College stronger, more ambitious, and better prepared for the future.