BIUST absorbs Roads Training Centre

Baboki Kayawe | Thursday March 12, 2015 16:52

 

RTC was founded in 1962 as a division of the department of Roads, under the Ministry of Transport and Communications (MTC).

Acting director of communications and public affairs at BIUST, Keoagile Rafifing, has confirmed the move, which will effect on April 1.   He said the integration was long agreed upon following recommendations of the tertiary education rationalisation in 2013. 

“On the basis of Tertiary Education Policy on rationalisation of non-autonomous public institutions as recommended by the Tertiary Education Council (TEC) in December 2011, the then TEC (now HRDC) recommended that Roads Training Centre (RTC) should be absorbed by BIUST for the purpose of efficiency and effectiveness,” he said. 

He added that at the moment, his institution was working with the Ministry to facilitate the absorption.

“The transfer is intended to commence by the 1st April 2015 with a transition period of one year during which the finer details of the absorption would be taken care of,” Rafifing said. According to the Ministry website, RTC has a fully-fledged unit, the Field Training Unit (FTU) in Molepolole that provides training on heavy plant road construction machinery and labour based technology that is relevant to roads.

“Roads Training Centre has gone through various stages of evolution from training only road foremen and plant operators to training artisans and technicians in highway engineering as well as training of plant instructors,” it reads.