Help House UB Students, Otlhogile Urges Property Owners

CHANDAPIWA BAPUTAKI
Staff Writer | Monday August 10, 2009 00:00

 

Speaking at the inauguration of the first independent UB Chancellor Sir Ketumile Masire in Gaborone last Thursday, Professor Otlhogile said the university is not fully residential. He revealed that at present approximately 30 percent are on campus students with 70 percent residing off campus. 'Our enrolment would be significantly smaller if all students had to reside on campus,' he said while acknowledging that off campus accommodation is not readily available, as the city does not as yet provide adequate student tailored accommodation.

The Vice Chancellor said that like other institutions across the nation, the university is feeling the impact of the economic downturn. He said while they face economic challenges, they are mindful of the essential role the university must play in solving them.

'Education, research and innovation are the key drivers of economic growth. That is what we do and must continue to do. Batswana rely on us to provide the intellectual leadership and an educated workforce that can produce new ideas and services that can drive the economy out of the crisis,' he said.

He also pointed out that UB, as an international organisation, is proud of the diversity of its staff drawn from all continents. 'But we still remain committed to localisation,' he said.  Otlhogile stated that UB's localisation programme is proceeding well with more Batswana attaining Masters and PhDs,' he said, while explaining that there are over a 100 Batswana studying abroad for their PhDs. He revealed that more citizen staff members are entering the professional cadre through promotions. 'Management positions are also steadily being localised, three of the four executive management positions are held by citizens, five of the nine deans are citizens and all but four directors are citizens,' he said adding that their major problem is gender representation in university structures.