EDUCATION STALWART

Dr Raphael Dingalo is the newly appointed founding CEO of Botswana Teaching Professionals Council (BOTEPCO).

The former Limkokwing University Vice Chancellor and CEO of the Human Resource Development Council (HRDC) holds a wealth of experience in the local education and training sector. In this feature, the allrounded educator shares his expectations for his recently assumed role as well as his hopes and aspirations for Botswana’s education sector.

Kindly introduce yourself for the benefit of our readers who are reading about you for the first time. Who is Dr Raphael Dingalo?

Mr or Dr Raphael Dingalo, whichever you prefer to call me, is the third born son of Mary and Kenneth Ntebang Dingalo, and thank God I am still with both of them. They are very supportive of their son they call Ndala or Daddy because I have been christened after my Dad.

Briefly give our readers an idea of what your professional portfolio looks like.

I have been in the education and training sector for the better part of my life, lucky to have been appointed the Staff Development Fellow at the then Botswana Polytechnic as Lecturer of Design and Technology, specialising in Graphic Design. This meant spending only a year lecturing before I went for my Masters at the University of Manchester.

Upon completion of my Masters, I stayed for another year before flying off to read for my Doctorate in Education, at the Institute of Education, University of London for a good 5 years, specialising in Curriculum, Policy and Practice.

I then joined the Centre for Academic Development at the University of Botswana before a brief tour as Director at Botswana Government Communication and Information System (BGCIS).

Thereafter, I joined Limkokwing as Vice President before joining the then Ministry of Education and Skills Development as Deputy Permanent Secretary. I had a brief stay in Parliament as Deputy Clerk of the National Assembly and then Chief Executive Officer of the Human Resource Development Council (HRDC).

Congratulations on your recent appointment as the founding CEO of Botswana Teaching Professionals Council. How does it feel?

It is pretty exciting because I am continuing on my journey to contribute towards the education and skills development sector in Botswana, which is key in driving the nation’s human capital development.