Internationalisation of Higher Education in Botswana: A Route to Realising the Principle of Self-Reliance in Botswana's Education Philosophy

Abstract

Botswana's first national policy on education was unveiled in 1977 eleven yearsafter the country became independent from the British. The education policy of1977, which was commonly known as Education for Kagisano was based on theNational principles of Botswana which are: Democracy; Development; Self-reliance; Unity and Botho. These national principles are imbedded in the nation's education philosophy and reflect in all aspects of the nation's education system. This paper was informed by the views of a group of third year students the researcher supervised during their internship programme. Relevant literature was used to augment the paper. The paper sets out to examine the extent to which the Batswana have been able to actualise the national principle of Self- reliance, as a result of the current wave of internationalisation of higher education in Botswana and goes on to argue that the wave of internationalisation of higher education in Botswana in the past decade, is positively contributing to the actualisation process of the principle of self-reliance in its education philosophy. This is evidenced by the international dimensions of the curricula of the various institutions of higher learning which are heavy on practical and vocational courses that equip the students with skills and knowledge to rely on themselves and be self-employed in the absence of paid employment.