UB Honours Dr Chiepe

CHANDAPIWA BAPUTAKI
Staff Writer | Monday October 12, 2009 00:00

 

In his citation during the graduation ceremony, held at the UB stadium, UB Vice Chancellor Professor Bojosi Otlhogile said that Dr Chiepe with other early professionals and nationalists of her time played a role in the transformation of Botswana. He explained that Chiepe, coming from a humble background, worked her way up through education at a time when the prevailing attitudes of men and those of Batswana in general did not encourage women to advance in educational endeavours. 'However, she persisted in her educational pursuits becoming the first woman graduate in the entire country,'
Prof Otlhogile said explaining that her degree was in the sciences, an academic achievement that was normally a domain of male students. Otlhogile said Chiepe rose from being a teacher to become the Director of the Education Department at the time of independence. 'She was the first woman to achieve such a position within the civil service,' he said, adding that Chiepe subsequently became a high commissioner and ambassador for Botswana in a number of European countries. Chiepe joined politics in 1974, becoming the first woman Member of Parliament (MP) and Cabinet minister. 'We can truly say of Dr Chiepe that she is a woman of many firsts. She has been exemplary in all her service to the nation,' he said explaining further that generations of students and civil servants have benefited much from her legacy as a teacher, career civil servant, diplomat and politician. The other recipient was Alec Campbell, who was awarded the degree of Doctor of Letters, for his outstanding contribution to scholarship through extensive research and publications. Otlhogile said Campbell has over the years contributed to acquisition and expansion of historical knowledge about Botswana including his pioneering role in promoting archaeological research, which has made the reconstruction of Botswana's remote past possible. He is a founder of the scholarly journal Botswana Notes and Records, which is a flagship of the Botswana Society, a society dedicated to the dissemination of knowledge about Botswana. 

Batho Molema was awarded degree of Doctor of Music for his initiative to promote, popularise and teach Botswana traditional song and music including advancing its acceptability as a genre not only among Batswana themselves but also to an international audience. 'The rich collection of traditional music of yesterday and poetry at the Radio Botswana and by extension to the whole nation is a product of his vision, passion and determination,' Otlhogile said. 

UB conferred 3,840 doctoral, master and bachelor's degrees at the joint graduation ceremony with the Botswana College of Agriculture (BCA).

Out of the 3,840 degrees, eight were PhDs, 171 were Masters Degrees and 151 postgraduate Diplomas in different disciplines.A statement from the university stated that this signified an increase in the number of PhDs from three at last year's event.The BCA presented 260 candidates for graduation.