Call for Application – Botswana Department of Tertiary Education Financing Top Achievers Sponsorship 2025/26 Program now open.
The Department of Tertiary Education Financing under the Ministry of Education & Skills Development invites applications from qualified citizens of Botswana for Tertiary Education Government Sponsorship for 2025/2026 under the Top Achievers Sponsorship Program. All applicants will experience advised to adhere to terms and conditions for applying for sponsorship as stated in this notice to ensure compliance to set requirements.
All applicants are advised to adhere to terms and conditions for applying for the Top Achievers Sponsorship as stated in this notice to ensure compliance to set requirements. Qualifying applicants will be considered for placement in local private high schools for their foundation programme Le. AS level and A Level. Upon completion of the foundation level, students will be considered for both internal and external training in programmes specified in this advert only.
The General Priority Areas of Training includes:
- Agriculture
- Mining
- Tourism
- Transport and Logistics
- Sports and Creative Industries
- Trade
- Manufacturing
- Health
- Science and Technology
- Engineering
- Business, Financial Services and Trade
- Education and Training
- Professional Programs
Also Read: DTEF Botswana Tertiary Education Government Sponsorship 2025/2026 Online Application
APPLICATION PERIOD:
The applications will be open from Wednesday 02 July 2025, Tuesday 29 July 2025 on DTEF website , updates will also be posted on DTEF Facebook page: ‘Department of Tertiary Education Financing‘.
ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA:
The applicants must meet the following:
Must have completed BGCSE, IGCSE, A LEVEL, AS, IB DIPLOMA & MATRIC in November/December 2024 and have attained the following Minimum Cut Off Points:
| CERTIFICATE TYPES | CUT OFF POINTS |
|---|---|
| BGCSE | 6 (A*) |
| IGCSE | 6 (A*) |
| AS LEVEL | 4 (A) |
| IB STANDARD | 4 (7) |
| MATRIC | 4 (7) |
| A’LEVEL | 3 (A) |
| IB DIPLOMA (HIGH) | 3 (7) |
SPECIALIZED PROGRAMMES BY FIELD OF STUDY:
Applicants must be able to complete training before the age of 35.
The prospective students will only be awarded sponsorship in the fields of study listed in the table below and successful applicants will be placed in external institutions only if their selected programme of study is not available in the local and regional institutions.
| NO. | FIELDS OF STUDY | PROGRAMMES |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | AGRICULTURE | Veterinary Science, Veterinary Medicine, Forestry & Range Ecology, Wildlife Management, Nature Conservation, Agronomy, Entomology, Toxicology, Fish pathology, Bee pathology, Biotechnology, Ecology, Microbiology |
| 2 | MINING | Mining, Machine e-Learning |
| 3 | TOURISM | International Tourism Management, Culinary Arts |
| 4 | TRANSPORT & LOGISTICS | Transport Economics/Planning |
| 5 | BUSINESS, FINANCIAL SERVICES & TRADE | Financial Engineering Econometrics Digital Marketing International Business and Trade Law International Trade and Finance Fintech Actuarial science |
|---|---|---|
| 6 | SPORTS & CREATIVE INDUSTRIES | Any Creative/Design programmes |
| Music Fine Arts Performing Arts Fashion/Apparel Design Theatre/Visual/Dramatic Arts Sports Science and Management Culinary arts Creative coding Copy right law | ||
|---|---|---|
| 7 | MANUFACTURING | Robotics Artificial Intelligence |
| 8 | HEALTH | Dentistry Physiotherapy Psychology Occupational Therapy Diagnostics, Radiography & Imaging Audiology Speech Pathology/Therapy Clinical Psychology Pharmaceutical Chemistry Public Health Medical Imaging Science Neuroscience Mental Health Dental Therapy Dietetics & Nutrition Prosthetics & Orthotics Optometry. Medicine with specialization in; Urology Dental; Orthodontics |
| 9 | SCIENCES & TECHNOLOGY | Bio-Medical Science/Engineering Nuclear Physics Land Architecture Data Science Heavy Plant Mechanical Forensic Science Nanotechnology Cyto/Histo Technology Earth & Environmental Science Water & Sanitation Sanitation & Waste Management |
|---|---|---|
| 10 | ENGINEERING | Bio-Medical Science/Engineering Aerospace Engineering Building Construction Engineering Civil & Structural Engineering Construction Management/Studies Construction Economics Heavy Plant Mechanical Earth & Environmental Science Water & Sanitation Aircraft Maintenance Engineering Building & Civil Engineering Oil and Gas Engineering Robotics Engineering Artificial intelligence. |
| 11 | EDUCATION & TRAINING | Special Education – specialization in Learning Disability, Visual Impairment & Hearing Impairment |
| Psychology discipline | ||
|---|---|---|
| 12 | PROFESSIONAL PROGRAMS | Chartered Financial Analyst |
CONDITIONS FOR COUNTRY OF PLACEMENT:
i. Prerogative placement of students into countries of study lies with the
Department and the Department reserves the right to revoke the sponsorship
of such students.
ii. Qualifying applicants will be considered for placement in local private high
schools for their foundation programme i.e. AS level and A Level where their
choice of programme is not offered locally.
iii. External placement will be considered for those who acquired direct entry into
their First Degree programme and their programme of study is not available
locally.
iv. Government will NOT sponsor qualifying applicants for Bridging/Foundation
programmes in external institutions
v. Applicants who had to retake or re-sit failed subject for the purpose of
qualifying for Top Achievers Sponsorship will NOT be considered.
vi. Applicants who had to upgrade or improve their subjects’ grades for the
purpose of qualifying for Top Achievers Sponsorship will NOT be considered.
ONLINE APPLICATION PROCEDURES – LOCAL PLACEMENT
Qualifying applicants who have been admitted into local private high schools are
advised to apply online as outlined below;
STEP 1: Online Tertiary Education Sponsorship Log-in.
Visit the official website of the Online Tertiary Education Sponsorship and
Click on Sign Up, top right, this allows you to create a user account to use
to interact with DTEF. Capture your details as per the form displayed.
Enter a valid email address e.g. [email protected] at the end, click
Create New Account.
STEP 2: Apply
After logging in, click Apply for
Sponsorship STEP 3: Choosing the
Application Type.
STEP 4: Provide Exam details
STEP 5: Fill in information on personal details
STEP 6: Program Details
Select the institution and the systems will auto-fill other details.
STEP 7: Attaching the relevant documents
Upload the relevant supporting documents in pdf, jpeg, png or jpg
format at the Attachment section.
STEP 8: Declare, Preview and Select Submit.
STEP 9: Select Application-My Application New Student on the Main Menu.
Select and view the Memorandum of Agreement on the table that
appears.
STEP 10: Select Accept on the table to generate Offer letter. Click Offer letter
then view PDF to download.
Note that the Reset button will allow you to start the application afresh and clears all
that you have captured before. This applies only to applications that have not been
submitted, including the ones in Saved as ‘Drafts’.
Note that if you do not meet the minimum required cut off points, the system will not
allow you to proceed to the next step. A notification email will be sent to you through
the email address you provided to that effect.
IT’S IMPORTANT TO NOTE THAT:
Hand delivered applications will NOT be accepted. Except otherwise advised.
The online system allows you to save your application in Draft mode and revisit
at a later stage provided it is before submission deadline.Failure to submit all supporting documents will render your application incomplete.
Only applications on the above listed areas of study will be considered for sponsorship.
There will be no consideration for award in retrospect for those who self-
sponsored before award of scholarshipAppeals to the Ministry against the decision of the Director DTEF regarding non
approval of sponsorship application will only be considered up to 2 weeks after
closure or within 14 calendar days of having received the response.
The Department of Tertiary Education Financing reserves the right not to award
sponsorship if the applicants do not satisfactorily meet the application requirements.
ONLINE APPLICATION RESTRICTIONS:
Applicants whose admission information is not captured in the system by the relevant local private secondary schools will not be permitted to apply.
The system will not permit applications from individuals who do not have National Identity number or birth certificate number and non-citizens.
The system will NOT permit applications from individuals with academic points below the cut off points.
The Department will not process applications from students who sat for examinations after December 2023.
DISCLAIMER:
Admission at Tertiary Institution does NOT guarantee award of Government sponsorship.
Meeting the minimum requirements does NOT guarantee sponsorship.
Submission of an application online does NOT guarantee an award of sponsorship
Any false statement or declaration made to acquire sponsorship/loan will result in invalidation of the application and may result in prosecution.
APPLICATION INQUIRIES:
For any information, applicants are advised to contact the Department from 0730hrs to 1630hrs on weekdays only through the under-listed lines:
Toll Free No: 0 800 600 185
Call Centre: 3719364/3719439/3719441/3719473.
Public Relations: 3719319/3719321
Switchboard: 3791300/ 3719301