The recent policy shift by the Namibia Students Financial Assistance Fund (NSFAF) is a notable, significant development for higher education funding in Namibia, sparking both surprise and shock among tertiary students. The move involves the removal of the income threshold and means-testing requirements, ensuring equality by opening up funding to students from all walks of life and economic backgrounds.
Furthermore, the extension of financial coverage to certificates of NFQ level 5 and lower, marks a significant twist towards an inclusive education system. One that reflects the right to education enshrined in the Namibian constitution. Additionally, it acknowledges the value of these qualifications in the Namibian job market and gives underprivileged students who could otherwise not afford to cover the costs of a certificate of NFQ level 5 and lower a chance to be able to pursue tertiary education.
But perhaps one of the most significant things to come out of this is their commitment to fund failed modules. For years this has been a contentious issue in the higher education scene, with students who failed modules often left without financial support to cover that module, hindering their ability to complete their studies and delaying their graduation.
By changing their policy position, NSFAF not only lessens the financial strain on students but also shows that they are dedicated to their achievement. Years of devoted activism and lobbying by the Namibia National Students Organisation (NANSO) have resulted in the 180-degree change in NSFAF’s stance, which did not happen overnight.
NANSO
NANSO, a formidable voice for students’ rights and welfare, has long championed equitable access to education and financial support, addressing systemic challenges that hinder students’ academic journeys. Speaking to Dorothea Nangolo, the organisation president, and Jessy Abrahams, its spokesperson, we get a more detailed understanding of NSFAF’s announcement and the lore surrounding its policy shift and what NANSO has in store to assist students to prepare for and take full advantage of this situation.
One of the main questions on students minds was how NANSO would help ensure that students who were previously unable to finish their degree programs due to failed modules and financial burdens would now be assisted in transitioning back into the education system.
Nangolo, the organisation president, responded to this, stating that “this was a critical transition period that required careful coordination among all parties involved.”. She further goes on to say that NANSO would start vigorously advocating and lobbying for the creation of a comprehensive re-entry framework that would include the setting up of support systems to help aid students navigate the re-admission process, including document preparation and academic planning. She added that NANSO would sanction institutions to recognise previously completed credits.
“We need to ensure that students don’t have to repeat years they’ve already passed,” she stated.
Addressing some of the skepticism concerning the creation of a ‘Failure Mentality’ among the students, Spokesperson for the organisation Abrahams chimed in.
“The policy maintains academic performance requirements—students must still pass their academic year to retain funding,” Abraham says. She further states that failure is innately a human experience, and module repetition funding acknowledges that, and the fact that academic challenges can occur for various legitimate reasons beyond student control, such as mental health.
“This criticism fundamentally misunderstands both student motivation and the nature of academic support.”
Jessy Abrahams
“The policy actually reduces mental stress on students, allowing them to focus on academics rather than financial worries. The real ‘failure mentality’ would be maintaining barriers that prevent capable students from completing their education.”
Jessy Abrahams
NANSO’s Mission Towards Free Education For All
Ending the interview on a positive note, NANSO strongly affirms that even though this is not the free education they were fighting for, they are enthusiastic about this win. “Yes, this is indeed a significant step toward universal access to education,” Nangolo remarked.
Nangolo adds that the removal of the means-testing acknowledges education as a fundamental right rather than a privilege based on family income, aligning Namibia’s education model with successful models in other countries where universal access to education has driven economic development and the address of social inequalities.
This eliminates the arbitrary distinctions between students based on household income, which often didn’t reflect actual ability to pay. For example, households might have a good income that has to be stretched for too many beneficiaries.
“The policy creates a more equitable system where academic merit and career aspirations drive educational opportunities rather than income,” Nangolo explained, which is primarily true; students become more prone to explore other degree and career options rather than being concerned with what they feel would be easier to get them funding by NSFAF.
While this does not yet equate to free education, NANSO asserts that this shows that financial barriers should not determine educational access for any Namibian child from any background and that this system should and will eventually align itself with the mandate of free, quality education for all.
The Fight Continues
Abrahams further emphasised and pointed out that this is just one step in a long linear journey, and NANSO continues to advocate for free, quality tertiary education for all Namibian students through their proposed education levy, which includes lobbying to increase the funding allocated to NSFAF to ensure the sustainability of the student fund, better support systems for the students beyond conventional tuition, and enhancing the quality of education given to better ensure that there is a greater return on investment.
Abraham concludes by saying they definitely understand as students themselves that academic journeys are not linear and students deserve second chances, to not only prove themselves to themselves but also to the society enabling them to better contribute to it and the economy.
The Reality on The Ground
Two students who chose to remain anonymous shared their respective stories on the outcome of this policy and how it will change their livelihoods by allowing them to finally complete their education. Sharing their story, one of the students shed light on how she was only able to acquire 23 points during her metric exams in 2019.
“It was a sad day for me and my family. I can still see the disappointment in my father’s eyes. I was meant to be the first in my family to get formal tertiary education and help my mother and father, who are both street vendors at Stop and Shop in Ombili,” the student recalls.
She adds that her parents did not have a lot of money and had to support her three younger siblings as well, and there were no extended family members she could call on for help when she had finally found a certificate program that would take her at one of the institutions of higher learning.
Her financial situation wouldn’t allow her to take it up, and attending the Namibia College of Open Learning, formally known as NAMCOL, was also out of the question for her at the time, as the prices were still too high for her and her family to afford.
“The past few years have been difficult for me but this new NSFAF Policy gives me the opportunity to pursue a certificate of higher education and bring food to the table back home.”
She closed off by saying she hopes that there will be easy mechanisms that will allow her to get back into the school system again and provide for herself and her family and hopefully become a contributing member to her community in Oshitenda.
The second student’s story takes an equally sad precedence. “I remember receiving the news that NSFAF would not be funding a prerequisite module that I had failed in my final year,” the student says.
“My mother had sadly passed away when I was 20. My father relies mostly on his pay cheque and has to ration it out amongst my three siblings and me, of which we all go to tertiary institutions. The immense financial pressure on my dad could not accommodate this one module, which in all honesty I felt was overpriced,” he says.
He agrees he could have saved his non-tuition fees to cover the modules and laments by saying, “I was young and had spent all the money on gadgets and fast food. How was I to know that I would lose my mom during exams and fail one of my modules due to the sheer stress and mental strain her death had on me?
He asserts that this funding policy is indeed a great opportunity for him to be able to return to university and make up for something he felt was out of his control.
These students’ stories shed light on the reality on the ground in Namibia. It also shows us what students go through, and how this new funding policy creates the possibility to remove poverty in Namibia, and make education free and accessible to all Namibian students who need it.
NANSO’s fight is an honourable one that goes primarily unnoticed and overlooked by many Namibian citizens including the very students that they advocate for, but we can surely as a community appreciate the hard work and effort that this young group of students put into making sure that their peers are properly treated by the tertiary education system and ensuring that the system does not abuse any of it’s powers.
This is definitely a great achievement for NANSO but more so for the Namibian student who will benefit from it and get the opportunity to complete a certificate and get a job and support their family. Plus, it also serves those who have previously failed modules and were held back from graduating. They can now finally repeat those modules because the financial assistance is here. Finally, students should seize this opportunity and use it to its maximum capacity and, if need be, reach out to NANSO or NSFAF for clearer guidance.
Powerful piece 👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾