- Founder says its graduates are working in Botswana, Zambia and eSwatini
- Boitekanelo is on cusp of becoming a university
- Boitekanelo to off er 45 scholarships gratis
KATLEGO RAKOLA
Healthcare educator Boitekanelo College will offer 45 free scholarships across different disciplines to mark its 15-year milestone of existence, The Botswana Gazette has established.
The college interacted with journalists ahead of the celebrations on 7 May. The journalists heard how the college, which started as a desire to address the scourge of HIV in Botswana through its founder Dr Tiroyaone Mampane, first began as a training institution offering a healthcare assistance course.
Boitekanelo has now transitioned into a full fledged college offering several healthcare courses at certificate and degree levels. Updating the media on this journey at a press conference in Tlokweng last Friday, Dr Mampane said there was a big gap to fill healthcare human capital because some professionals were opting to leave the country at a time when HIV was on the rise in the early 2000s.
He believed an education centre like Boitekanelo could help Batswana. “If you’re held by a paramedic, a clinical technologist and a SHE officer in private healthcare within Botswana, Zambia and eSwatini, that person is likely to be a Boitekanelo College graduate,” he said.
He added that this leadership in healthcare education within the region was also made possible by collaborations with several institutions in SADC and elsewhere such as South Africa’s Stellenbosch University, the University of Cape Town and eSwatini’s Ministry of Health.
Boitekanelo College currently houses just over 2 200 students and 180 staff, 100 of whom are academic and the rest in important support roles. Dr Mampane said 90 percent of this staff are citizens.
Since inception, the college has graduated 6 500 students, 4 000 of whom are now employed. “We are currently at the top when it comes to employability of our graduates,” said Mampane.
In his engagements with the Tlokweng community where Boitekanelo is located, Mampane has established that the college has had a lot of positive impact on the community. He said sectors such as transport, retail, services, accommodation, hawkers and infrastructure are having a direct benefit from existence of the college.
As part of celebrating the 15-year milestone, Boitekanelo College will award 45 scholarships across different disciplines. Dr Mampane said these comprise of 15 degree scholarships worth P4 million, 15 certificate programmes worth P450 000 and 15 short courses for families worth P200 00.
“We have talked to the Ministry of Local Government to identify 15 deserving students from vulnerable and disadvantaged families for us to sponsor for the entire four-year degree programme,” he disclosed.
“We have also identified 15 students from Mochudi where I am descended for the certificate programme. Lastly 15 families will be trained in first aid in partnership with youth radio station YaronaFm.”
A line up of events has been prepared for the commemoration. It includes short marathons, motorcades and gala dinners. For the future, Dr Mampane revealed that Boitekanelo College will introduce a School of Rehabilitation Sciences and a School of Nursing as new additions to its programmes. Boitekanelo College also wants to transition into a university and a plot to undertake this new project has already been identified.