Mmegi

Genesis of the GUC, LSB battle

According to GUC, the arrangement was not only transparent but was subjected to scrutiny by regulators from the outset PIC: MORERI SEJAKGOMO
According to GUC, the arrangement was not only transparent but was subjected to scrutiny by regulators from the outset PIC: MORERI SEJAKGOMO

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.

Editor's Comment
The Boko-led administration has to tread carefully

‘When you make peace withyourself, you make peace with the world’- Maha GhosanandaThis may come at a huge cost if not handled properly. What started off on Labour Day in Letlhakane this year, where Boko was in attendance when the militant lawyer-cum-trade unionist, Robert Rabasimane rebutted the President’s address in defence of the trade union has seemingly spiralled out of control. The issue is now creating a cat-and-mouse type of a...

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