GABORONE, Sept. 10 — Botswanan President Duma Boko on Wednesday urged educators and policymakers to develop innovative solutions that ensure access to quality education and training for the most marginalized members of society.
Speaking at the opening of the three-day Pan-Commonwealth Forum on Open Learning (PCF11) in Gaborone, the capital of Botswana, Boko said inclusive education is a critical foundation for both individual economic participation and broader regional development.
The event is held under the theme “Innovative Open Education: Fostering Resilient Societies for Sustainable Economic Development.” “We have people at the margins of society, and they need to access quality education,” Boko said.
“They need to receive training and skills that prepare them and enable them to participate not just in our national economy, but in the region and in the world.
It is your responsibility as leaders to bring this access to the people.” Organized by the Commonwealth of Learning, an intergovernmental organization based in Canada, in partnership with Botswana’s Ministry of Higher Education and the Botswana Open University, the event focuses on leveraging open, online, and flexible learning to widen access, bridge the digital divide, and advance socio-economic development.
Minister of Higher Education Prince Maele said, “Through innovation in open education, higher education can achieve a lot of goals for development resilience in societies.”
