HRDC Hosted the First Tertiary Education Financing PITSO

Tertiary Education financing is now a serious challenge. Botswana has experienced challenges in funding the Tertiary Education System for some time now due to a number of dynamics, among them inadequate and unsustainable funding models for tertiary education.  Therefore, being alive to the challenge, the Human Resource Development Council (HRDC) in collaboration with the Ministry of Tertiary Education, Research, Science and Technology held the first Tertiary Education on the 7^th October 2016. The Pitso was held at the Gaborone International Convectional Centre (G.I.C.C) under the theme, “Transforming Tertiary Education Financing.”

The purpose of the Pitso was to solicit input from different stakeholders on achieving an inclusive and sustainable way of financing tertiary education in Botswana.  The Deputy Permanent Secretary - Corporate Services, Ms Nnosang Mhutsiwa officially opened the Funding Pitso on behalf of Honorable Dr Alfred Madigele, the Minister of Tertiary Education, Research, Science and Technology.  She highlighted that education plays a critical role in empowering people and ensuring equal opportunities for all.

She added that higher education and research in particular, plays a significant role in addressing poverty, reducing inequalities and providing knowledge and skills to enable young people to compete and respond to the socio-economic and environmental contexts they find themselves in. “We have done very well as a country as we have seen participation rates at tertiary level rising from 7.7% in 2003/04 to 19.9% in 2015/16. This was a result of Government deliberate decision to sponsor students to local private tertiary education institutions.” said Ms Mhutsiwa.

In order for the tertiary education sub-sector to give impetus to the realisation of the Revised National Policy on Education of 1994 and Vision 2016 goals, among others, the Tertiary Education Policy (TEP) of 2008 and the National Human Resource Development Strategy (NHRDS, 2009) were developed. These two key policy documents emphasise the need to increase access, improve quality and address equity and relevance in tertiary education. In particular, the TEP sees tertiary education as a critical leverage for Botswana to transition from a resource-based to a knowledge based economy,” Mohutsisa said.

The Funding Pitso, attracted experts from tertiary financing bodies in Kenya and South Africa inter alia, who presented on how they critically looked into the area of cost-sharing as well as tightening recoveries from beneficiaries. The Head of Research Strategy and Planning for the Higher Education Loans Board (HELB), Kenya, Ms. Mary Wachira gave a presentation on Transforming Tertiary Education Financing – Kenya Perspective. Ms Wachira stated that the Kenyan Government sponsored students to public tertiary education institutions and from this year private universities. Students get 58% of their tuition fees sent directly to the institution based on the number of students by the Ministry of Education and the balance is either paid by parent or through a loan from HELB. The self-sponsored students in public universities pay fees directly to the institution and students in private universities also pay their fees directly to the institutions. 

She further outlined the challenges Kenya is experiencing in student financing, which include: increased demand for loans in amount and numbers; increased cost of education; high fees; high cost of living; competing demand on government funds; and, unemployment leading to loan defaulters. Dr Raphael Dingalo, the Chief Executive Officer of  HRDC, presented on the Evolution of Tertiary Education Financing in Botswana; followed by Professor Ouma from the University of South Africa (UNISA), South Africa; who presented on An International Perspective On Cost-Sharing In Higher Education: Drivers, Options And Challenges; followed by Mr Golekane Setume, Business Botswana Education Sector Chairperson who presented on The Role of The Private Sector In Financing Tertiary Education and finally Ms Seabo Keorapetse from Ministry of Finance and Economic Development presented on the Economic Outlook.

The Pitso concluded with group discussions aimed at coming up with possible solutions for achieving an inclusive and sustainable tertiary education financing; the role of the non-state actors sector in tertiary education financing; and, conclusion and recommendations.