03 Feb 2025

The Botswana Teaching Professionals Council (BOTEPCO) recently launched the Commonwealth of Learning’s Beyond Numbers Project.

Themed; Scaling Quality Teacher Development in Sub-Saharan Africa with Open and Distant Learning, the project according to Ms Boipelo Kesamang, the director of Botswana Open University, focused on empowering educators through the uptake and utilisation of open educational resources as part of their professional development.

“Open, Distance and e-Learning philosophy can transform education not just for teachers, but for the generations they nurture as it allows learners to pursue education without being bound by location, time or specific entry requirements,” she said.

For his part, project consultant, Professor Nkobi Pansiri said the project, which aimed to revolutionise teacher development through open and distance learning methods, was poised to address the pressing need for enhanced pedagogical skills among educators.

“The project’s deliverables include building capacity for the development and implementation of a national framework for teacher training, adapting a suite of digital literacy training modules tailored for teachers, and crafting a comprehensive plan for scaling these educational resources to a wider audience, as well as adapting at least two short courses for teacher capacity building from the Commonwealth of Learning module repository,” said Prof. Pansiri.

Deliveringthe keynote address, BOTEPCO registrar, Dr Raphael Dingalo urged participants to embrace the potential of technology in enhancing education.

“As we navigate the challenges of modern teaching, it is imperative that we leverage open and distance learning to equip our teachers with the skills they need to thrive in a digital world,” said Dr Dingalo.

He further stated that the Commonwealth of Learning (COL) was a precursor of BOTEPCO’s strategic intent regarding teacher education.

“The 21st century teacher ought to be equipped with skills and competencies that will enable them to respond positively to the demands of the profession and continuous professional development will enable teachers to renew the skills required in their professional practice,” added Dr Dingalo.

The project is being delivered by the tripartite alliance of BOTEPCO, The COL and Botswana Open University. ENDS