Majaga’s Brigades motion is impractical
A call by Member of Parliament for Nata-Gweta Polson Majaga that Government should consider re-admitting all Brigades and Vocational Training Centre students as a matter of urgency is likely to be impractical, Botswana Guardian has established.
Majaga last week presented this motion which was supported by many MPs including those from the ruling Botswana Democratic Party (BDP). The debate on the motion is expected to continue in Parliament today (Friday).
While this could be seen as a good motion brought at the right time especially being supported also by cabinet, Botswana Guardian has found that this will just only raise hopes of students’ while on the ground the situation tells a different story.
The issue of admitting students to brigades has been a thorny one since it first came to play when government admitted scores of students to brigades and technical colleges while the institutions were not in any good state to admit the students due to lack of equipment, adequate space, unaccredited courses by Botswana Qualifications Authority (BQA) and while the syllabus was still under review for re-alignment.
Vocational educational training as a practical learning needs equipment in workshops, something this publication has established could only happen next year.
Minister of Employment, Labour Productivity and Skills Development Mpho Balopi whose ministry houses these institutions supported the motion adding that it is government’s intention to ensure that the students are given the education they deserve.
He said the desire is to ensure that students get qualifications and skills that meet the industry demands. “We are not taking the education of our children for granted.
In the past some courses were not accredited while other institutions did not offer the courses that prospective students had applied for. The students who have been admitted and their courses were not accredited or were admitted at institutions that do not offer their courses of choice will still have their placement available. This is because they are protected by the BQA Learner Protection Regulation of 2016,” Balopi said.
Botswana Guardian can reveal that the readmission of students on urgency is far fetched as some technical colleges and brigades have no equipment.
In fact, government through the Ministry of Employment, Labour Productivity and Skills Development late last year floated tenders for equipment with the second publication of the tenders made in the Government Gazette of August 2020. Closing date for submission for bidders was August 21st 2020.
The Ministerial Tender Committee has published tenders for Supply, Delivery, Installation and Commissioning of Equipment- for various courses in the Department of Skills Development Institutions. It is alleged that this could also be a headache for the government as the buying of the equipment is happening at the time when the curriculum is not yet ready.
Balopi who is also MP for Gaborone North said 8325 students were admitted while 4703 could not be admitted into vocational institutions.
He said this represent 50 percents of those who have been admitted.
According to Balopi his ministry next year will admit 2324 while the Tertiary Education Department under the Ministry of Tertiary Education, Research, Science and Technology will take 5000 and 1079 will be taken to private institutions.
“We will be taking these students to private institutions through the same arrangement we have been having as government. In our interactions with the private institutions we have been made aware that for a duration of a course one student will need P20 000.00.
“In that case we have set aside P22 million to cover that cost. There are 800 more students who did not have the minimum entry requirements. These people will be admitted at Rapid Skills Centers under the Construction Industry Trust Fund (CITF),” revealed Balopi.
Majaga’s motion was supposed to have been tabled during the Budget Speech Parliamentary Session but the session ended before it could be tabled.