By Ann M. Koenig,
, a Malaysia-based higher education network with institutions in several countries, has become the first fully-licensed tertiary education provider in Botswana, after operating under an interim authorization for several years. The government of Botswana is looking to private tertiary providers to help increase access to higher education, as publicly-funded institutions cannot handle the demand. This is part of an overall strategy of human resource development adopted in 2009 to support the diversification of the country鈥檚 economy, which has been based mainly on the diamond and mineral industry and tourism. Limkokwing鈥檚 presence in the region also includes Limkokwing University Lesotho and Limkokwing University Swaziland.
The 2014 graduating class of LUCT numbered over 900 students from a variety of disciplines, including international business and hospitality management, information technology, design innovation, communications and creative media and technology, and architecture.
Botswana also has a new public university, the , for which plans were begun in 2004. Amidst controversies surrounding location and staffing issues, and in construction, BIUST finally began teaching in August of 2012 using the facilities of a technical college that is to become a part of BIUST, with about 125 students in four programs. BIUST finally moved to its new campus in Palapye, about 25 miles outside of the capital city of Gabarone, in July of this year, with close to 400 students. Its goal is to triple that number in the near future.
The (TEC) oversees all tertiary education in Botswana. Its Web site includes lists of 鈥渞egistered鈥 institutions, both and . (Please note that the list is not dated; it does not yet reflect the new status of LUCT and does not include BIUST.) 鈥淩egistration鈥 denotes that an institution has been 鈥渁ccredited鈥 according to the TEC鈥檚 quality assurance process, unless the notation 鈥淟etter of Interim Authority鈥 appears after the institution鈥檚 name, which signifies that the institution has been approved as a tertiary education provider but the quality assurance review is still in process. About a dozen private higher education institutions in Botswana are currently operating with interim licenses. LUCT is the only private provider to have been fully registered thus far.
In the TEC鈥檚 institution lists, detailed information about each institution can be accessed by clicking on the 鈥淩ead More鈥 link in the right column next to each institution listing. This leads to a page where an institutional profile sheet in pdf can be downloaded.
Additional information on the educational system of Botswana can be found in resources such as the Botswana online country profile in and the Guide to Higher Education in Africa, currently in its Sixth Edition (2013), jointly published by the Association of African Universities, the International Association of Universities and UNESCO.