The decline and fall of higher education in Botswana: The curse of commercialisation (Part I)
Friday, January 13, 2017
![Students at a local tertiary institution](https://cdn4.premiumread.com/?url=https://www.mmegi.bw/uploads/imported_images/2017/january/13/phpkoy9Vb.jpg&w=400&q=72&f=jpg&t=1)
Students at a local tertiary institution
The year 2016 ended on a high note with respect to the overdue debate regarding higher education in Botswana. University of Botswana’s Professor Thabo Fako’s presentation before the Parliamentary Committee on Statutory Bodies and Public Enterprises in November provided much needed impetus to the debate.
It is not so much the fact that the University of Botswana (UB) is cash-strapped that is critical to the debate, but the relevance of the institution in the modern economy as well as the implications of the fierce competition it is receiving from private tertiary institutions. The debate was useful to the extent that it brought into sharp relief the vacuousness and bankruptcy of our higher education system.
The BDP as a party known to have ample resources has always held its primaries well in time, but this time around that was not the case. The first leg of the primaries was held last weekend, with the final leg being billed for the coming weekend. This time around, the BDP failed to shine in its primary elections. The elections were chaotic; most if not all polling stations didn't open at the specified time of 6am. Loyal BDP members braved the...