BIUST could open a campus in Phikwe
Innocent Selatlhwa | Tuesday March 14, 2017 16:07
This comes after Parliament Friday adopted a motion by Selebi-Phikwe West legislator, Dithapelo Keorapetse, requesting Government to consider relocating the College of Engineering and Technology to Selebi-Phikwe for the purpose of establishing a BIUST Selebi-Phikwe campus.
BIUST is based in Palapye. The college falls under the Department of Mining and Geological Engineering.
About 8,000 people lost their jobs when the Government abruptly shut down the BCL Mine and set it up for provisional liquidation.
“Selebi-Phikwe must be revitalised following the closure of BCL. Whether or not the Mine reopens, this can assist in job creation and breathing life into the economy of the town.
“Selebi-Phikwe deserved BIUST in the first place, but because it is in Palapye, the least we can do is to have a campus dealing with mining related disciplines like mining engineering, metallurgy, geology, instrumentation, chemical engineering, mechanical engineering and rock mechanics, amongst others,” he said.
Keorapetse argued that Selebi-Phikwe could offer good practicals for students and that there is everything in terms of infrastructure like water, health facilities and schools to support learning.
He said the town has been neglected in terms of diversification of the economy and preparation of the town for post mining.
Legislators Wynter Mmolotsi, Pius Mokgware, Tlamelo Mmatli, Ndaba Gaolathe, Polson Majaga, Phillip Makgalemele and Sethomo Lelatisitswe spoke in support of the motion before it was eventually passed.
The legislators were of the view that this would help with opportunities for some of those who lost their jobs and those they support when BCL was liquidated.
Earlier this month, Keorapetse had asked the Minister of Tertiary Education, Research, Science and Technology, Alfred Madigele, if Government was amenable to relocating the college to Selebi-Phikwe for the purpose of establishing BIUST Selebi-Phikwe campus in line with the resuscitation of the town’s economy.
In response, Assistant Minister, Fidelis Molao said his Ministry was responsive to establishing a satellite college of BIUST in Selebi-Phikwe.
He stated that he was not in a position to get down to specifics with respect to the college that could be established there.
Molao noted that, “apart from the disciplines of geology and mining engineering, there are possibilities for other specialisations such as environmental sciences, earth sciences and other fields of engineering”.