GAZETTE REPORTER
The Botswana Qualifications Authority (BQA) has completed the National Credit and Qualifications Framework that will see Botswana trained students getting portable qualifications that are transferrable and also allow them to seek employment across the world.
The acting chief executive officer of BQA, Abel Modungwa, said at the Awards dinner of the just ended Botswana Human Resources Development Skills Fair and Career Clinics that framework is at completion stage.
The framework is almost ready for implementation pending the approval of BQA Regulations this month, said Modungwa.The changes will also see the Botswana Examinations Council being transformed into a National Assessment Centre.
These reforms will improve the quality of education and training, facilitate dialogue between demand, that is industry, and supply being education and training providers, he said.
Modungwa said that the objective is to produce graduates that are job ready, can self employ and are globally competitive, with the system being comparable and compatible with international standards.
Jobs are often available to those who are unqualified and unavailable to those who are qualified. The issue of unemployment needs to be tied to planning. We need to look at what jobs are likely to be available over the next 20 years and reduce the number of graduates who will hit the streets without jobs. If we expect more mines we should train more artisans. We need to train people with skills that are required, said Modungwa.
The Ministry of Education and Skills Development, in 2010 took a decision to rationalise the skills development regulation by morphing the Tertiary Education Council (TEC) into the Human Resource Development Council which was mandated to plan and fund human resources development as well as coordinate work place learning, while the Botswana Training Authority became the BQA which was given the task to develop the National Credit and Qualifications Framework.
From 1 April 2014, registration and accreditation of institutions at tertiary level previously undertaken by the TEC were moved to BQA.