Self-reliance and the History of Higher Education: The Botswana University Campus Appeal (BUCA)

Self-reliance features prominently in the development strategies of many post-independence African governments. This article explores the role of rhetorics of self-reliance in the founding of a national university in Botswana, following the unceremonious break-up of a three nations' University of Botswana, Lesotho and Swaziland in 1975 (UBLS). It tells the story of the Botswana University Campus Appeal, which was launched to solicit donations from the public. The story reveals how the political leadership of the day raised significant funds through the appeal, rewarded generous donations with publicity, and carefully moulded the campaign into a broader, coherent strategy of nation building. The article is based on archival research in the Botswana National Archives and interviews with those who were involved in the national appeal. It explores why people from different backgrounds were prepared to make sacrifices to support the university campaign, even though some of the donors did not have the slightest idea what higher education was all about. The campaign is significant for the insights it gives into the nature of Botswana's nationalism in the early days of independence, and the early history of higher education in the country.