UB�s allure to students fades � Molao
Pini Bothoko | Thursday February 23, 2017 17:52
Molao was responding to queries in Parliament on why there has been a decline in Government sponsorship at the institution.
Francistown East MP, Buti Billy, asked the Ministry to state other options that can sustain tertiary education funding.
In response, Molao said the Ministry has been giving UB a higher quota for sponsorship, but the institution had been failing to attract learners to fill the space allocated.
“Just because UB is having lower enrolment that does not mean as the ministry we are responsible or that we have reduced the number of quotas. “Every year UB is given a higher quota but it has been failing to attract learners,” Molao said.
Molao added there has not been a decline in Government sponsorship, as the Budget allocation for tertiary education financing has grown over the years from P1.8 billion between the 2012 and 2014 financial years to P2.2 billion in the 2016-2017 financial year.
“For the 2017-2018 financial year, we will be requesting P2.4 billion signifying a further increase in the budget allocation for tertiary education financing,” Molao said.
However, according to information obtained by Mmegi, the budget for government sponsorship in 2016-2017 was actually P3.3 billion, suggesting the P2.4 billion for 2017-2018 will actually be a 27% cut.
Mmegi’s figures were sourced from draft estimates that circulated recently.
Molao said the number of new students sponsored varies on an annual basis depending on both the budget and student performance.
Molao stated that the number had dropped from 15,257 in 2013-2014 financial year to 8,630 in 2016-2017 financial year.
“This difference was mainly due to the fact that the cut-off point for Government sponsorship was reduced from 36 points to 34 points in 2012-2014 because students had not performed well. The cut-off was taken back to 36 points in 2015-2016,” Molao said.
He said that they are reviewing the current model of tertiary education financing.
“We hope to conclude the review and consultation process during the first quarter of the coming financial year,” Molao cited.
Billy challenged Molao, asking if they do not see the cut-off points as denying learners to further their studies at tertiary level.
Molao responded by saying that the cut-off points do not in anyway deny learners the opportunity to enrol at tertiary institutions because those who have failed to enrol at UB can do so at brigades or vocational training colleges.
Standing on a supplementary question, Wynter Mmolotsi, the MP for Francistown South wanted to know how sponsorship funds were shared between the UB and other private tertiary institutions.
In response, Molao said institutions are given numbers according to quotas and the UB’s share has been the highest.
“We, however, cannot compare UB with private institutions because private institutions are many.
If there is a need to establish where the highest amount of sponsorship goes amongst the local universities, we have to compare them one on one. That would force us to look again at each institution’s quota,” Molao said.