By Clemence Manyukwe
GABORONE – Botswana’s new president, Duma Gideon Boko, a Harvard-trained constitutional and human rights lawyer, has pledged to chart a different path in higher education and science.
Boko was inaugurated on 8 November, ending the 58-year uninterrupted rule of the Botswana Democratic Party (BDP), which has been in power in the Southern African country since independence in 1966.
A holder of an LLB from the University of Botswana, an LLM from Harvard University and a Diploma in Human Rights and Humanitarian Law from Lund University in Sweden, the new Botswana leader was the president of an opposition coalition, the Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC), whose victory came on the back of an election manifesto that promised reforms in the higher education sector. The new president has since said he will keep those pledges.
Boko’s election manifesto stated that his new government will establish a national scientific, industrial and research council made up of competent academics, private sector, civil society and labour representatives to oversee the implementation, monitoring and evaluation of the country’s policy on science and technology development.
In addition, the new government has pledged to implement an accelerated infrastructural project that includes building student hostels, staff houses, laboratories and ICT service centres.
Students have called on the government to address housing as a matter of urgency.
heo Monageng, the chairperson of the Botswana National Union of Students (BONUS), urged the government to address the state of student housing, saying the conditions of many residences need significant improvement, from maintenance and security to infrastructure upgrades.
Investment in 4IR capabilities:
According to the UDC manifesto, the Boko-led government will invest in three critical Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) capabilities: human capital, infrastructure and business sophistication.
“We will establish a 4IR Presidential Task Force to advise the government on [a] transition to the 4IR,” reads a part of the manifesto.
It also says the new government will subsidise data usage for students and provide facilities with high-speed connectivity and computers to provide platforms for ICT graduates to engage in programming, coding and software development.
According to the party, the business uptake of technology is low and Botswana has failed to develop an innovative, creative, critical, problem-solving and entrepreneurial population.
Many students who finish school are left outside the “skills and training development programme” and there are limited research capabilities as almost all technologies are imported, it adds.
“UDC will establish a national research and development fund which will be accessible to all accredited academic institutions to address the scientific and technological needs of the country as well as STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts and maths) education programmes. The private sector and international partners will be encouraged to contribute towards the research fund,” reads part of the election manifesto.
Blueprint for education:
UDC’s blueprint that focuses on education, training and human resource development identified nine priority areas of intervention for a better education system.
The list of priorities includes training and youth development; reorienting education towards the skills of the future; strengthening of collaborative partnerships in higher education and research development; lifelong learning opportunities for all, as well as youth development and empowerment.
On training and youth development, the blueprint says Botswana’s education system should shift decisively towards the skills of the future. It would require a mix of education financing strategies, including public funding, private funding and sponsorship grants from corporations and private foundations to do so.
To implement this shift, the government will undertake a comprehensive review of the education and skills development system to determine the gap between the system and the requirements for an accelerated transition to 4IR education.
It also pledged to introduce a system-wide continuous professional and leadership development programme to equip the system to deliver.
Tertiary education focus areas:
On, tertiary education, set out as the “strengthening of collaborative partnerships in higher education and research development”, it says the new government will establish a Botswana Research Council to review and consolidate existing capacity for research and development; establish a sustainable innovation, research and development strategy; and broker partnerships between universities, research institutions and industry.
It also says government and community organisations will promote academic and applied research in all institutions of learning, from secondary school to universities.
The blueprint says all Batswana should have access to lifelong learning opportunities – in other words, the chance to retrain and re-skill themselves throughout their lives.
Funding will also be allocated for adult learning opportunities programmes that support citizens to adapt to changing technology.
In terms of youth development and creating avenues for the education and re-skilling of unemployed youths, including vocational and further training up to graduate level, and facilitating youth entrepreneurship, the UDC undertakes to promote longer stays in the education system and the acquisition of superior skills through post-graduate training in order to equip young people with the higher skills and competencies required by the 4IR, the policy document said.
A call for better facilities:
Monageng, the chairperson of BONUS, outlined the key higher education issues, in addition to student housing, that his union hopes the new president and government will address.
He told University World News the new government promised to increase the Student Living Allowance to BWP2,500 per month (about US$183) and they expect that this commitment will be implemented promptly.
Monageng said a sufficient allowance will free students from financial stress to allow them to concentrate fully on their studies.
According to Monageng, many campuses lack adequate facilities for students to engage in physical activity, develop teamwork skills and support their mental health.
The student leader also urged the new administration to invest in modern, inclusive facilities that provide students with facilities to pursue sports, arts and extracurricular activities.
“Alcohol and drug abuse remain prevalent challenges on many campuses, affecting academic performance, health and safety. We ask the government to support and expand counselling, mental health services, and substance abuse awareness programmes on campuses. Collaborative efforts to address this issue will be essential in creating a safer, more supportive environment for students,” said Monageng.
He said BONUS believed in the power of collaboration to truly transform higher education in Botswana, which should entail the new government engaging in partnerships with international institutions, other student unions, the private sector and NGOs.
“Finally, we urge the new administration to create an education system that is accessible and equitable for all. This includes addressing barriers that prevent students from different backgrounds from fully participating in higher education,” he added.
Students want to see job creation:
Boago Dodo, a student from the University of Botswana, who is also the international relations secretary of the Southern African Students Union, agrees with Monageng that the issue of student accommodation needed urgent attention.
“Not all universities provide accommodation, therefore students have torent, which is expensive. [We want an] increase of student living allowance,” she told University World News.
She also said the new government promised 450,000 to 500,000 jobs within five years and it must fulfil that promise to accommodate graduates.
In another interview, Wandipa Mualefhe, a Botswana PhD student at Michigan Technological University in the United States pursuing studies in the field of environmental and energy policy, said that, as a climate change researcher, she thinks the new government should recommit to climate change mainstreaming and begin to operationalise its mission as stated in Botswana’s 2018 National Climate Change Strategy to integrate climate education into core curricula at all education levels.
“Climate change education is important because climate change affects people from all walks of life across multiple dimensions. Understanding how to mitigate its effects and adapt in appropriate ways is, therefore, essential for survival.
“Mainstreaming climate change education also fits well with the new president’s recent declaration that Botswana needs to diversify its economy. A populace that better understands how to thrive in a changing world is one that innovates and is involved in development,” she said.
Source: University World News
