Financing tertiary education under fiscal stress in Botswana

Developing countries place a high premium on education because it is believed to correlate with economic development. Similarly, Botswana adopted an education-for-development policy when it became independent in 1966. Providentially, it discovered and mined minerals, particularly diamonds, and funded education. Unfortunately, Botswana is a diamonds-led economy and suffered revenue losses due to the global economic crisis. Cutback budgeting became imperative and one of the questions that arose was; who should pay for tertiary education? While the government continues to fund it, calls for alternative financing models have arisen. While the call is legitimate in a resource-limited environment, this article argues that there is a need to interrogate the present financing model to improve it before embarking on new initiatives. Finally, while this case study is Botswana-specific, lessons can be drawn for resource- strained African countries. That is, it is vital to interrogate existing models before thinking of new ones.