Intergration an answer to quality education

BABOKI KAYAWE
Staff Writer | Friday January 27, 2012 00:00

The chief of Botswana Accountancy College, Michael Lesolle said efforts of the BEH should be integrated in such a way that emphasis is on the various education structures working together to ensure quality education.

Lesolle was commenting on one of the key areas the BEH has identified to transform Botswana into a centre of excellence. It will do so through investing in the sector and attracting international students, professors, researchers into the country. 'It is very crucial for the hub to look at what would attract these people to Botswana,' Lesolle said.

He also stressed that it was valuable to look at early childhood education because the foundation ensured better grasping at other levels. Education has to start at home not in the classroom, he said.

According to Lesolle, brilliant students who made it to tertiary education more often lack a number of skills that cannot be acquired in the classroom setup. 'In order for them to emerge as future leaders they need to have received skills that are not taught in the classroom.'

He also called for national campaigns to ensure that parents get involved in making their children aware of such issues as smoking and alcohol consumption.

The founding director Pre-University Academic Programmes at Botswana International University of Science and Technology (BIUST), Haniso Motlhabane said the BEH was an excellent platform to conceptualise initiatives that would take the local education sector to the next level. However, he expressed concern on the holistic perspective given the declining education quality.

'It is pertinent that the BEH coordinates quality in order to attract the skills that we want to bring in our education sector through having more external students,' Motlhabane added.

The vice-chairperson of the Botswana Confederation of Commerce, Industry and Manpower (BOCCIM), Daisy Mmabatho Molefhi said the BEH was a unifying body as evidenced by the presence of 16 tertiary education providers. She called the forum the starting point of building a vibrant system.

Molefhi said the private sector was committed to the agenda of transforming the national education sector, and that BOCCIM was ahead with 'adopt a student', through placing them in professional internships as a way of moulding them.

'There is a need to mould graduates for export, given the small market that can't absorb all graduates, so as an economy we should not be complaining that other countries are poaching our human resource because there are no jobs for them,' she said.

Molefhi added that it was time to consider the world as the labour market because the local job market cannot afford to employ them all. In unison with Lesolle, Molefhi said it was important for government to refocus its investment in education where it would make impact; that is childhood learning and train teachers in that filed. 'Quality assurance bodies should be strengthened and it is high time all key stakeholders come together to devise more comprehended strategy towards tertiary education sponsorship,' she advised.

Moreover, she said development of the sector through affiliation or partnering with international universities was good initiative. However, she said government should encourage partnerships locally and institutions should go outside the borders only when no local institution has the expertise.

Another participant suggested that the BEH 's nine niche areas should be aligned the curriculum for students to consider areas of strength and passion at upper secondary level instead of identifying career paths at tertiary institutions. The niche areas are medical science and research, mining and energy, business, agriculture and livestock management, hospitality and tourism, conservation and environment, veterinary science, peace and justice, and good governance.

'Sports and performing arts should be considered as well, there is need to consider certification but look at the profile instead and those with passion and experience in areas of traditional music for instance should be utilised by the BEH to grow the arts,' one participant said.

The BEH acting coordinator, Mogatsa Kewagamang said the establishment of the education hub is aimed at transforming the country into a centre of excellence in the sector. The hub is expected to do deal with all levels of education, from pre-primary to tertiary level.

He explained that the hub is working towards positioning Botswana as an educational destination of choice both regionally and internationally. 'We want to increase international enrolment through marketing our institutions, we are not only targeting students but professors and researchers in order for us to export education as countries like Australia are doing,' he said.

Kewagamang also said that they were looking at leasing under-utilised institutions to local and international education providers and at attracting new providers. 

The hub was established in 2008, together with five other hubs as part of the country's excellence strategy.