Botswana aims at 20% tertiary education intake

BABOKI KAYAWE
Staff Writer | Thursday January 24, 2013 00:00

According to a report released at a TEC media briefing this week, for 2011/2012, tertiary enrolment trends indicate that participation has been fluctuating since 2007/2008, with noticeable increasing demand. 'One cannot over-emphasise that this fluctuating high demand for tertiary education has high financial implications that call for strategic handling andmanagement of tertiary education financing in the medium to long term,' the report says. Although trends show a decline from the participation rate of 17.3 percent for 18-24 year olds in 2008/9 to 15.1 percent and 13.4 percent in 2009/10 and 2010/11 respectively, it increased to about 16.4 in 2011/12.

It is against this background, that the fourth edition of the Botswana Tertiary Education Fair and Conference will focus on tertiary education financing in a resource-limited environment. TEC says reasons behind the fluctuations are low sponsorship in some years and unsatisfactory school results in other years. It describes this trend as 'worrisome' firstly because more spaces in institutions are underutilised, a situation that hinders the longterm goals of increasing tertiary participation in line with Vision 2016 goals. TEC proposes that funding models that include cost sharing as implemented at lower levels of education should be urgently considered and implemented at tertiary level with the aim of increasing tertiary participation rate.

The organisation's Executive Secretary, Dr Patrick Molutsi, says Botswana is increasingly accepting tertiary education as a critical driver of economic diversification and global competitiveness. Though it is still at the planning stage, Molutsi says this year's fair will feature road shows either in Gantsi or another town in the north of Botswana, the aim being to bring awareness about the local tertiary education landscape to people outside the capital. Another novelty will be introduction of a stakeholder perception survey. The two joint events will be held from March 18- 23 in Gaborone under the theme 'Tertiary Education: Shaping Your Future.'