Abstract—The paper explores factors shaping higher education in Botswana and whether these factors are a testing ground for policy formulation and implementation. The research was guided by key objectives that focused on some factors that shape higher education in Africa and Botswana. These objectives culminated in the researcher using two futures thinking methodologies. That is, the Delphi Real-Time Questionnaire (DRTQ) and the Futures Wheel (FW). In the DRTQ experts on higher education in Botswana gave their expert opinions on factors shaping higher education in the country. They were drawn from various tertiary institutions in the country like Universities, College of Education and Technical Colleges. These experts also completed the FW where they brainstormed on the primary and secondary impact of trends in higher education in Botswana. The experts believe the government of Botswana prioritises higher education as reflected by a huge budget allocation to the sector and the development of the Education and Training Sector Strategic Plan (ETSSP) to focus on issues affecting higher education among others. Feedback from the Futures Wheel identified 6 trends that have primary impact on higher education in Botswana. The secondary impacts, which were drawn from the primary impacts, captured the following according to the experts; maintenance of higher education standards, relevant targeted education, improved service delivery, higher world rankings, knowledge society creation, increased global participation and globally competitive graduates. 
 

Index Terms—knowledge age, innovation, futures wheel, ICT, coherence, factors, higher education

Cite: Mbiganyi Moremi, "Factors Shaping Higher Education in Botswana: A Recipe for Policy Formulation and Implementation?," International Journal of Learning and Teaching, Vol. 4, No. 1, pp. 64-69, March 2018. doi: 10.18178/ijlt.4.1.64-69