BIUST steps up hunt for VC

CHANDAPIWA BAPUTAKI
Staff Writer | Tuesday January 15, 2008 00:00

 

Speaking to Mmegi yesterday, project coordinator Badumetse Hubona said the BIUST council has engaged Academic Partners, a South African recruiting agency, to hire the vice chancellor. The agency has since advertised the post in newspapers in Botswana and South Africa.

The VC would, amongst other duties, be responsible for all the issues of curriculum development, development issues and the recruitment of the rest of the staff. 'We expect the successful candidate to be at work at least by June if they have to serve a notice at their current jobs. But if we find a readily available person, we would expect him/her to be in the office by February or March.

It is an urgent position that we want filled as soon as possible,' the project coordinator said, emphasising that the most important thing is to make sure the first batch of students is enrolled by 2009/2010.
Meanwhile, the BIUST council has completed paying compensations to the affected people at the site where the institution is to be built at Palapye, in the Central District Council.

Hubona indicated that only a few landowners, whose cases are still pending, are yet to be paid. She stated that the compensations were different as they were paying each owner based on the value of the developments on the affected pieces of land. 'During the valuing of the lands at the site a few graves were located and the residents have since agreed to exhume and rebury at a different place,' she said.
Hubona said everything is progressing smoothly with the second university's first intake of students expected by 2009/2010 as planned.

 
'On site nothing has been done as yet because we wanted to compensate the owners of the land so that we take full ownership of the land. We have already requested water and electricity and the master plan has been done,' she said, adding that their target is to physically start work by the first quarter of this year. 'Phase one of construction that will be used for the first enrolment of the students should start by the first quarter of this year, probably in March,' she said.

She dismissed allegations that because the developments at the institution are behind, the first batch of students would initially be housed at the Oodi School of Arts. 'We have no intention of doing that as they will be starting their first year at Palapye,' she said.