Gov�t to transfer students from unaccredited tertiary institutions
Goitsemodimo Kaelo | Friday February 24, 2017 16:26
Madigele’s comments follow recent protests by students at Botho University and Ba Isago University against unaccredited courses offered by the institutions. Last year, New Era University College students took to the public complaining about unaccredited courses.
A large number of students are presently roaming the streets without jobs, after being sponsored for and qualifying under unaccredited courses that employers do not recognise, the protesting learners said. In an interview with Mmegi, Madigele said government had since passed new regulations and given institutions six months notice to comply, failing which stringent measures will be imposed.
He revealed that out of the 300 programmes currently offered by education training providers, only 64 have been fully accredited. He said no school would be allowed to offer unaccredited course after six months.
“We have given institutions six months notice. If they don’t comply for any particular programme, the students will be taken out to other schools that offer the same course. We are still doing an audit of all courses offered by the institutions.
“We have also put stringent measures in place to deal with them. There will be heavy fines and even imprisonment for non-compliant institutions. Accreditation is a very important matter of quality assurance,” he said.
Madigele assured students who have been awarded certificates for courses that were not fully accredited that the certificates are recognised. He said the old Tertiary Education Council regulations recognised courses that were approved and under provisional accreditation even if they were not fully accredited.
“The awards are recognised as long as they are approved under the TEC regulations.”
He further stated that the ministry has offered to assist the Botswana Qualifications Authority (BQA) with capacity and funds to bring the accreditation issue to closure.
He said he has asked BQA to engage on a communication plan to ensure that students, stakeholders and potential employers know that certificates attained and approved by the TEC regulations are recognised.