Close non-compliant DDT College of Medicine - Dr. Gobotswang

Member of Parliament for Sefhare-Ramokgonami, Dr. Kesitegile Gobotswang has told Parliament that DDT College of Medicine at Gaphatshwa Campus must be shut down because of its poor teaching conditions and learning facilities.

Gobotswang said in his view, 'tota tota sekole se kabo se tswetswe” - meaning that indeed this school should have been closed. He said all he saw was just nothing but for a ploughing field.

He said he noticed that there is no occupancy permit, there is nothing indicating that the school is under construction, even the road leading there is not different to the one used by farmers in the area.

He added that there is no public transport, potable water nor power supply. He asked the Minister of Education and Skills Development, Dr. Douglas Letsholathebe to verify that the school is operational.

Gobotswang had earlier asked Dr. Letsholathebe to update the House on the conditions of teaching and learning at DDT College of Medicine at Gaphatshwa Campus.

Letsholathebe acknowledged being aware of the conditions of the teaching and learning facilities at DDT campus. He said this is a new site and the college is using porta cabins as classrooms, whilst construction of permanent structures is still ongoing on site.

He said that the College was registered and accredited by Botswana Qualifications Authority (BQA) as an Education and Training Provider (ETP) in September 2018 after satisfying all the requirements for registration and accreditation at their old site and that this registration and accreditation will expire in 2028.

Further that BQA inspected DDT College of Medicine’s new site at Gaphatshwa on the 17th of April 2023.

The inspection report revealed two non-compliances as follows: the land use is designated for horticultural purposes, there was no evidence of Health Inspection having conducted by the relevant authority and there was no

occupation certificate issued by the Town Council.

However, Letsholathebe said he is not aware of any labour cases registered with the Department of Labour against the College. At the ETP’s inspection carried out on the 17th of April 2023, no labour issues were raised with BQA.

He said according to the BQA Quality Standards, Students Representative Council (SRC) is part of the ETP’s governance structure which qualifies an ETP for accreditation.

'I am currently not aware of any complaint by the DDT SRC. BQA met the SRC during their inspection of the ETP but no complaints were raised by the SRC regarding their teaching and learning conditions.'

Letsholathebe said the ETP was inspected on the 17th of April 2023. There were some non-compliance issues identified.

“The ETP was not aware of its non-compliance and on the 21st April 2023, a written Notice to close the identified gaps within 21 days was issued”.

The 21 days lapsed before the ETP could close all the gaps. The BQA Board will make a decision on the way forward this month.