Africa-Press – Botswana. The Ministry of Education and Skills Development is in the process of transforming the Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) sub-sector, and such will cover issues relating to the curriculum and its delivery, facilities and equipment, capacity building and student welfare.
Answering a question in Parliament, Assistant Minister, Ms Nnaniki Makwinja said as part of the process, allowances for students at brigades and certificate-offering technical colleges were being reviewed for implementation in the next financial year.
Ms Makwinja said students admitted at diploma offering technical colleges were paid an allowance of P1 609.70 for self-catering students and P355.50 for full board students.
The allowance, she said was increased by 18.5 per cent last year September.
The current allowance for the brigades and certificate offering technical colleges is P300 per month and has not been adjusted since its inception in 2013, Ms Makwinja said.
She said there were no immediate plans to increase the allowances for diploma offering technical colleges.
Ms Makwinja went on to explain that allowances at brigades and certificate offering technical colleges were given as grants, not loans like at tertiary level therefore, did not need to be repaid at the completion of sturdy.
“The grant is inclusive of tuition, meals, stationery, protective clothing and accommodation where applicable. Learners are also entitled to a daily allowance of P35 when undertaking projects at institutions or on attachment,” said Ms Makwinja, adding that the arrangement was a cost-sharing measure as parents had to provide for other needs not catered for.
She said adjustments of allowances at brigades and technical colleges were influenced by the impact of inflation on households and ultimately availability of funds as it depended on the economic status of the country at the time.
Ms Makwinja further explained that the ministry disbursed allowances to learners every month, however, there had been instances when allowances at Maun Technical College were not paid due to some technicalities which resulted in the payroll being rejected by the system.
She said the ministry would closely monitor the payment system, to improve efficiency.
Maun East MP, Mr Goretetse Kekgonegile had asked the minister to brief the house on the upkeep and welfare of learners in technical colleges and brigades regarding the amount of the current allowance and the last time it was increased and also if there were any intentions to increase the allowance;.
He further wanted the minister to state what normally influenced the increase or non-increase of allowances of learners at technical colleges and brigades and to lastly state if the minister was aware that Maun Technical College students were not paid their allowances monthly and how the anomaly was being corrected.
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