10 Feb 2025

Maun Technical College (MTC) management says upgrading the institution to diploma level will increase the value and employability of graduates.

The college principal, Ms Pono Saubi made the remarks during a tour by the Assistant Minister of Higher Education, Mr Justin Hunyepa who was on a mission to appreciate the facility and challenges faced.

The college, she said, was big and had personnel with relevant qualification for diploma courses, noting that diploma programmes included more in-depth theoretical knowledge alongside practical skills, therefore provided a better understanding of the underlying principles within a trade.

She also called for appointment of a deputy director in the North West region responsible for Technical and Vocational Education Training (TVET) issues, citing that currently colleges were faced with a lot of challenges such as high vacancy rate, dilapidated infrastructure and shortage of equipment and material to ensure effective teaching and learning among others.

“We want decentralisation because currently, it takes a long time for our principals to attend to our queries. We have a high vacancy rate because people have retired while some have been transferred and there is no replacement and this has affected our operations,” she added.

Ms Saubi further stated that TVET was important to the country as it helped people develop skills they needed to find jobs and succeed in the workplace. She also requested for re-instatement of training with production or increase students allowance citing that TVET was very expensive and required more funds.

Training with production, she said was ideal as the college had programmes they could use to generate revenue and use part of the money to undertake some minor maintenance in the college.

Student Representative Council vice president, Ms Refilwe Setlhare concurred that the college needed to be upgraded to diploma level saying that would lead to better career opportunities and higher earning potential compared to a basic certificate.

She also noted that poor infrastructure was a challenge as the facilities were old and needed renovation. Other challenges she mentioned included lack of accommodation for students, shortage of rest rooms, shortage of protective clothing, learning materials, tools and equipment used in workshops.

Staff representative, Mr Molatlanyi Makgetho also noted that shortage of staff was a serious concern citing that some sections operated with temporary lecturers which made it difficult for them to align with the semester. He called for absorption of temporary lecturers to ensure continuity and eventually produce learners that were ready for the industry.

Mr Makgetho also decried delay in payment of scarce skills allowance for Business Studies lecturers saying the issue continued to be a hard nut to crack. He also called for a college counsellor saying there had been a provision for the position during the time of COVID-19 and believed such gesture could be extended to the now times where they were burdened.

In response, the assistant minister appreciated that the college was very neat citing that the workshops were organised unlike in other brigades. He also acknowledged that the college management was working closely with the SRC which he said formed part of the management.

“I am very impressed to see an organised SRC that understand their rights and responsibilities well. You have the right to education and decent accommodation, feeding and you should also have adequate resources for learning and I encourage you to keep up the good work and continue engaging the college management so that your voice can be heard,” he said. ENDS