BOTEPCO, BOU sign MoU for teacher quality
Staff Writer | Wednesday November 19, 2025 11:21
Guests began arriving from 10:30am for registration before the programme formally opened with a prayer delivered by Maipelo Moalafi, BOTEPCO Manager for Ethics, Standards and Compliance. The Director of Ceremonies, Mercy Rebaone Thebe, who is the Manager for Corporate Affairs at BOTEPCO, then took to the podium for salutations and introductory remarks. This was followed by welcome remarks from BOTEPCO Director of Legal Services and Board Secretary, Mpho Leteane, who underlined the importance of the collaboration for the teaching fraternity.
A presentation on stakeholder collaboration was delivered by BOTEPCO’s Manager for Research, Boipuso Mosalakgotla, setting the tone for the day’s key statements. In his address, BOTEPCO Registrar, Dr Raphael Dingalo, explained that the partnership with BOU is rooted in stakeholder mapping carried out by the Council soon after its establishment. He said the exercise, which used the Three I’s Method to assess influence, impact and interest, placed Education and Training Providers amongst BOTEPCO’s most critical stakeholders.
Dr Dingalo said BOU naturally emerged as a priority partner given its position as a major producer of teachers and a leading institution in Open and Distance Learning. He said effective stakeholder engagement empowers communities, promotes sustainable change, builds relationships and contributes to organisational growth. “This partnership is timely and strategic, especially as we have commenced the registration and licensing of teachers. Engaging key stakeholders strengthens our chances of success and supports our mandate to professionalise teaching,” he said.
The Registrar also reflected on past collaboration between the two institutions, particularly the Beyond Numbers Project, which was implemented with support from the Commonwealth of Learning and the Africa Federation of Teaching Regulatory Authorities. The initiative focused on scaling teacher training through ODL platforms, improving digital literacy and integrating 21st-century skills into teacher development. Dr Dingalo said this groundwork informs the areas covered by the new MoU.
Under the agreement, BOTEPCO and BOU will cooperate in teacher professionalisation research, continuous professional development, monitoring of the Teacher Code of Ethics, development of Teacher Professional Standards and Competencies, capacity building for registered and licensed teachers, and verification of qualifications. The MoU also facilitates knowledge sharing through workshops, seminars, and conferences, and allows BOTEPCO’s professional standards to be incorporated into BOU’s teacher education programmes.
Delivering the university’s statement, BOU Vice Chancellor, Professor Kgomotso H Moahi, expressed the institution’s commitment to supporting national efforts to enhance teacher professionalism. She said the university stands ready to integrate the Teacher Professional Standards and the Code of Ethics into its programmes, noting that the partnership reflects a shared vision for improved education outcomes.
The signing ceremony, attended by staff from both institutions and members of the media, ended with a sense of optimism, both parties describing the agreement as a welcome development for the education sector. Dr Dingalo concluded by stating that the MoU represents a 'win-win situation' for both institutions, and emphasised that the ultimate beneficiary must be the learner through improved quality of education.
“It is all systems go,” he said, thanking BOU for what he described as their willingness to 'come to the party' on a collaboration he believes will yield long-term benefits for the country’s teaching profession.