Limkokwing University of Creative Technology, which has been sensitive to market demands and feels a strong responsibility to produce graduates who are able to make a smooth transition from classrooms to workplace, has this year in its glittering graduation released the highest number of graduates from special needs department.
Limkokwing University of Creative Technology, which has been sensitive to market demands and feels a strong responsibility to produce graduates who are able to make a smooth transition from classrooms to workplace, has this year in its glittering graduation released the highest number of graduates from special needs department. A total of six visually impairment students who graduated with Associate Degrees in Business Management are Otsile Kgole who is currently working at Outright Engineering as an assistant manager, Elizabeth Gofhamodimo who works at Botswana Life Insurance as marketing officer, Unami Sihamba works at Wentzel group of stars as accountant, Karabo Langa, a volunteer at Francistown college of Education as an instructor, Frank Mosikare and Goratileone Jobe are still searching.
The school’s special needs unit is fully equipped with required equipment which enables all the students to study well and at ease. Among these six, three are Braille users while the other three are large font users.
In an interview with The Patriot On Sunday, Otsile Kgole said he is proud of his lecturers and classmates who worked tirelessly with him. “I am very thankful for my lecturers who gave me the support. They offered me extra lessons and were patient,” he said. He encouraged other special needs students especially those in tertiary institutions to work hard adding that nothing is easy, and hard work can help them to reach their goals.
The university’s spokesperson Mercy Thebe has said that they are proud of these graduates comprising of three males and three females who persevered through all the challenges they faced with their disabilities with the support of the University and the use of specialized equipment to finally get to the finish line and graduate with a solid tertiary credential.
According to Thebe, during their academic journey with the university, the students were able to learn what their peers were learning through the assistance, care and dedication of
“our staff, as well as the use of specialized equipment they used to study such as Braille user, talking calculators, large font user, computer installed zoom text, sara reader and CCTV & Ruby magnifier,” she said.
“The students are now capable of producing quality work in all the knowledge that they have acquired, they are computer literate and competent enough in terms of Business Management, for example, Accounting and business planning and are able to work under less supervision and under pressure with different supervisors,” she said.
They have also learnt how to interact with different types of people from various backgrounds and cultures. As students with special needs Thebe emphasized that the students enjoyed their studying in Limkokwing because the learning environment provided for them was conducive and they were impressed by the support and services provided by the Special Needs Unit Team which is driven by love and passion for what they do.
The graduates have expressed that they are grateful to Limkokwing University of Creative Technology especially the founder and president Tan Sri Lim Kok Wing, for having afforded them a lifetime opportunity that is not easily available in the country as most tertiary education providers do not cater for students with special needs.
These driven graduates hope to start their own businesses as entrepreneurs, create employment for other Batswana very soon and apply the skills they gained from Limkokwing University. Some of them are interested in furthering their studies up to Master’s Degree in the same field and get a paying job in a suitable environment.