Genesis of the GUC, LSB battle :: Mmegi Online

What began as a seemingly straightforward academic partnership between a Botswana tertiary institution and a United Kingdom university has evolved into one of the most consequential legal education disputes in Botswana’s recent history, writes Mmegi Staffer SPIRA TLHANKANE

The beginning of the Leeds

Beckett-GUC partnershipAt the centre of the controversy is Gaborone University College’s (GUC) Bachelor of Laws (LLB) programme, delivered through a franchising arrangement with Leeds Beckett University in the United Kingdom. The origins of the dispute date back to 2018 when GUC and Leeds Beckett University entered into a formal franchising arrangement under which the UK University would deliver its Bachelor of Laws programme through GUC in Botswana. According to GUC, the arrangement was not only transparent but was subjected to scrutiny by regulators from the outset. In 2019, GUC claims it wrote to the Law Society of Botswana seeking confirmation on whether graduates holding Leeds Beckett law degrees obtained through the partnership would be eligible to practise law in Botswana.

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Genesis of the GUC, LSB battle

What began as a seemingly straightforward academic partnership between a Botswana tertiary institution and a United Kingdom university has evolved into one of the most consequential legal education disputes in Botswana’s recent history, writes Mmegi Staffer SPIRA TLHANKANE

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