The HRDC (Human Resources Development Council) recently held
a job/skills/tertiary education fair aimed at school leavers in Gaborone.
A similar one was also held in Francistown. I attended on behalf of the
Department of Physics and Astronomy as a scientist on the ground to give
insight into the field and to also try and answer the more scientific questions
from learners. The HRDC fair serves as the main enrolment vehicle for
BIUST since it is the best way to access learners in the more populated areas
of Gaborone and Francistown.
 |
| BIUST with the trophy for second best stall at HRDC fair. |
I was on duty for a day and a half and during this time I
interacted with a number of students. Apart from the expected procedural
questions the main question I was confronted with was something along the lines
of which course is “most marketable”. I understood this to mean “which
course would deliver me a BMW or a Golf5 the quickest” with little
consideration for their own scientific/academic interest. The question
was most prevalent amongst males. I tried to counter this question by asking
them what they were interested in, but had little success with answers.
Some came with their parents and in most of these instances
the learners did little talking. However, the parents were very engaging, but
only to the point where I could support their opinion (and thus choices they
have already made on behalf of their offspring).
Only a handful of learners seemed to be informed and/or have
given their study choices some thought. Thus it was apparent to me that
learners had little knowledge of the job market as well as the options
available to them. Consequently, these learners were probably only considering
traditional graduate careers or careers to which they have seemingly been
exposed to through the media (“chemical and forensic sciences” were
the top course for which students enrolled).
I am convinced that these learners are in dire need of
guidance and career counselling. The number of learners successfully
enrolling at universities in Botswana may be manageable enough to at least have
every candidate complete a personality questionnaire. This can inform their own
as well as the university’s decision on whether to enrol them in a specific
course.
At the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and
Mathematics) festival in Francistown students were also enrolled, but the main
aim of the festival was to expose learners to the STEM subjects. I gave a talk
on the first evening and it was well received. I gathered that mostly teachers
were in attendance. From the audience questions, it was clear that there is a
great need for extensive scientific enrichment for both learners and teachers
alike.
I came away from these two events with a renewed sense of
responsibility as a scientist, especially one in a developing country where the
job market cannot (currently) absorb all the graduates which universities
produce. I think the question I will be asking myself for some time will be
whether our teaching and degrees actually deliver on the promises we make so
liberally to entice young people to enrol for our courses.
