BOSETU blames commercialising of tertiary education
Chakalisa Dube | Friday February 3, 2017 15:28
The averment by BOSETU comes just days after reports that the tertiary education budget for the year 2017/18 fiscal year will be reduced to P2.4 billion from P3.3 billion. Minister of Finance and Economic Development, Kenneth Matambo will deliver the budget speech on Monday. The Government has been the biggest financeir of tertiary education for many years.
Part of the reason why government is reducing funding on tertiary education is because sponsorship will be allocated based on skills required by the job market. In an interview BOSETU believes the influx of tertiary schools is one of the major reasons the Government is reducing the budget. “We have always been against the Government’s decision to outsource tertiary education to business people. Private tertiary institutions are owned by individuals who are after profit. The motive for profit means that prices for tertiary education are very high,” Rari said.
He added: “Because prices for tertiary education are high it means that the government cannot constantly sponsor many students. The reduction in tertiary education funding means that ordinary people are now suffering for mistakes of the government as only a few are sponsored”.
BOSETU has always opposed the presence of private tertiary institutions because it believes this has led to commerciliasation of education. On the other hand Government has maintained that the presence of private tertiary schools has improved access to tertiary education.
BOSETU also holds a view that instead of outsourcing tertiary education the Government could have built more universities because it would have enjoyed the privilege of keeping the tuition prices reasonable and promote access to education.
“If we had at least three major government universities operating like the University of Botswana (UB), access to education would be better. The assumption is that Government at reasonable costs without any intention to make profit will run the universities.
This way many students can gain access to tertiary education,” Rari said. In August last year the union at its annual conference held at Adansonia Hotel resolved to hold regular demonstrations to raise awareness against ‘the commercilisation of tertiary education’.
“Our view is that if such campaigns are not intensified our education would be up for sale. The intention is to involve all stakeholders, among others parents, political formations and the youth themselves,” Rari had said in a previous interview.
At the time the union also slammed the Government’s decision to close Lobatse and Francistown Colleges of Education, saying they were slowly being phased out under the guise of rationalisation while in actual fact Government is paving way to outsource tertiary education.