MoE to complete brigade takeover this year

MARANYANE NGWANAAMOTHO
Staff Writer | Friday February 12, 2010 00:00

The ultimate goal for the ministry is to transform the technical and vocational education landscape so that institutions would be better placed to contribute to skills and national developments. The governments’ takeover of brigades is therefore considered to be a positive move towards creating a transformed technical and vocational education landscape in Botswana. It is considered that this is a move that would lead to availability of skilled personnel locally, and that the availability of skilled individuals would provide a good base for attracting foreign investment.

Some brigades would be transformed into colleges whilst others would serve as satellite campuses.  Zuze has said that it is the intention of the ministry to gradually upgrade and introduce new courses in Brigades to improve their quality.

It has been considered that brigades have made a positive contribution to the development in the country as they filled a vacuum in the skills and development of many young people especially in rural areas by providing theoretical, practical training and on-the-job training in the construction, mechanical, textile, agriculture trades and business studies.

However, she said that the ministry is facing challenges with the project. “There are issues of employees not being absorbed. Issues of qualification also arise as the expectation of the Ministry is that there should be minimum requirements for specific jobs,” she said.