UB Student Launches Course Guide App
For many Form Five leavers, it is never easy to know which course to pursue, let alone get information and requirements on such. With the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic restricting gatherings and career clinics, which before the virus used to aid students in the selection of courses, are now impossible. This led to the University of Botswana (UB) fourth-year psychology student, Tefo Matladiile to develop a mobile phone application (app) to fill the gap.
Matladiile used her student allowance to fund the Course Guide App features, which include local tertiary institutions, courses they offer, entry requirements, application process and campus photos.
The app also shares links to multiple free international scholarships and also an interesting number of personality tests that link to careers to help students choose a course they can take according to their personality.
It also provides links to the Botswana Qualifications Authority for verification of accreditation of courses and also to websites of the listed institutions. The app can be downloaded from the Google Play Store. Even though the app is of benefit for many who wish to study, it will especially help Form Five leavers.
“Course Guide App was motivated by my experiences. I performed terribly in sciences at BGCSE despite having set my sights on science-related courses. So, I relied on the career fair like every other Form Five leaver in Botswana.
The career fair was amazing, all the schools were there selling us courses, but along the way, I got to understand that they are mainly looking for customers so they will try to get you to apply to their institutions.
A course you pick is something that is going to be your career and you cannot pick a lifetime thing in a week and it is worse when you don’t know what you want to do,” she said. Matladiile added that with competition for sponsorship always increasing, it was important that one chooses the right course. She said this was worse for students from rural areas, who do not easily have access to important information about opportunities hence the need to share information about scholarships through her app.
Matladiile said she intends to approach both the education ministries and listed institutions for partnerships to improve the app and also work towards making sure that it reaches many people, especially students. Matladiile added she intends to increase the list of participating institutions.
“I would have loved to include Brigades and other Vocational schools in the app in order to help students who didn’t reach minimum university entry requirements, but the information has not been digitised yet. I hope to get the information and grow the app,” she said.