Category: Education

WINDHOEK: The University of Namibia (UNAM) Foundation is prioritising the construction of an academic hospital for the training of medical practitioners and for enhanced access to quality care for Namibians.

The construction will cost an estimated N.dollars 1.9 billion, the UNAM Foundation Brand and Fundraising Project’s Executive Director, Bernadette Bock, said during the launch of the project here on Wednesday.

Bock said Namibia is challenged by limited specialised care, healthcare workforce shortages, gaps in training and research, and unequal access to quality medical care, which warrants the construction of an academic hospital.

‘I think it is a well-known fact that unfortunately we still experience unequal access to quality medical care, so the solution the university proposed for this is to pioneer state-of-the-art medical infrastructure,’ she said.

Bock explained that the university hospital will conduct applied and basic scientific research based on Namibia’s health challenges and will use cuttin
g-edge technology and therapies.

She noted that the expected impact is improving healthcare standards, skills development and employment creation, as well as increased community health services through outreach programmes and advanced medical research technology, innovation and medical services specialisation.

According to the strategic development projects booklet issued the total estimated cost for the construction of the academic hospital is N.dollars 1 972 065 233 (USD 105 065 420).

At the same event, UNAM’s Vice Chancellor Kenneth Matengu said the foundation aims to promote and facilitate the development and achievement of higher education objectives as a non-profit organisation.

‘To achieve this, we need support which includes investing in UNAM through the foundation… No support is ever too little; every donation has the potential to make an immense impact,’ he said.

Source: The Namibia Press Agency

WINDHOEK: Aging, inadequate infrastructure, technology and facilities at the University of Namibia (UNAM) limits the implementation of the university’s newly transformed curriculum, UNAM Foundation Executive Director Bernadette Bock, has said.

Speaking at the launch of the UNAM Foundation Brand and Fundraising Project here on Wednesday, Bock said there is a need to enable hybrid learning and teaching classrooms of the future to efficiently implement the new curriculum which adopted a blended learning approach as its overarching pedagogical model of delivery.

UNAM has transformed all their undergraduate programmes in response to the needs of the fourth and fifth Industrial Revolutions.

These programmes were implemented in 2023 in a variety of disciplines including agriculture, engineering, natural sciences, commerce, management, law, education, human sciences, health sciences and veterinary medicine.

She noted that some of the foundation’s projects include finding solutions geared towards learning, teachin
g facilities and technologies responding to both the fourth and fifth Industrial Revolutions, and to align to industry needs.

‘With this we hope to impact student performance and completion rates, we hope to enhance lecturers’ productivity… We are targeting increased graduate employability and increasing inclusion of students with disabilities and varying learning abilities,’ she said.

Amongst other challenges, Bock highlighted that not all phases of UNAM’s veterinary hospital are completed. This negatively impacts teaching, practical learning and animal health services to the public. Bock said the foundation will amongst others aims to ensure a fully equipped and functional animal hospital by developing the final phases of the construction.

Equally, she noted, practical teaching training in vocational education at the school of education is compromised due to the lack of adequate vocational equipment.

‘The challenge here is that teachers are being trained to teach vocational subjects in secondary schools
but they don’s have the equipment… So the teachers being trained need the equipment to test their skills and their knowledge to be able to transfer that knowledge to the students once they go into the labour market and start teaching,’ she stressed.

Bock further said starting with the Khomasdal campus in Windhoek, the foundation project aims to equip the campus workshop with the required vocational equipment to renew and optimise outdated spaces and prime them for the development of a Bachelor of Education programme focused on vocational education.

Source: The Namibia Press Agency

WINDHOEK: Swapo Party parliamentarian Patience Masua said that young Namibians want to engage in entrepreneurship but lack the necessary startup funds.

Despite the financial challenges faced by young people, Masua said in the National Assembly on Tuesday that efforts are being made to support small and medium enterprises (SMEs).

‘Many young people have an appetite for business, they have the talent, skills, ideas, and brilliance – all ingredients to build a successful business. They simply do not have the funding or the degree,’ she said while contributing to a debate on SME financing and its importance to the economy.

‘SMEs are important for the growth and diversification of the economy. They create job opportunities, stimulate innovation, and contribute to the overall economic growth of our country,’ said the youthful lawmaker.

However, Masua said the government has taken steps to make it simpler for SMEs to obtain finance. This includes the skills-based lending facility offered by the Development Bank
of Namibia (DBN).

‘The DBN has provided crucial financial support to young entrepreneurs looking to start their own businesses. Additionally, the government has also introduced various training programmes and mentorship initiatives to help SMEs grow and succeed in a competitive market.’

Masua also said that the allocation of funds toward small businesses in the 2024/25 budget towards the youth loan scheme is a step in the right direction to empower young entrepreneurs.

The budget of the Ministry of Industrialisation and Trade this new financial year was increased by 31.7 per cent to N.dollars 365.5 million and a total of N$1.2 billion over the Medium Term Expenditure Framework.

Finance and Public Enterprises Minister Iipumbu Shiimi said that funding has been allocated to the Equipment Aid Scheme, Start-Up Namibia, and EMPRETEC Namibia to facilitate domestic trade activities and build domestic entrepreneurship capacity, especially for SMEs.

When tabling the budget, Shiimi announced the lifting of the mand
atory registration threshold for value-added tax (VAT) from N.dollars 500 000 to N.dollars 1 000 000.

He said this will relieve approximately 23 000 SMEs from VAT administration to focus on their core activities while simultaneously freeing capacity at the Namibia Revenue Agency to focus on large taxpayers.

Source: The Namibia Press Agency

WINDHOEK: President Nangolo Mbumba said a lot has to be done to ensure that budget allocations in education are spent to deliver a healthy balance between the operational expenditure and funds spent on the welfare of both school-going and university students.

Mbumba in his capacity as the patron of the Unam Foundation during the launch of the foundation’s brand and fundraising projects on Wednesday said the issue of textbook shortages, infrastructure deficiencies, quality of lecturing, curriculums and education aids must be attended to efficiently and effectively, which are addressing the realities on the ground.

He explained that collective obligations should be geared towards the outcomes facilitated by the education infrastructure and equipment that facilitates better instruction, improves student outcomes, and reduces dropout rates.

‘This year alone, the Minister of Finance announced a budget of N.dollars 18.3 billion to education, which was the second highest allocation. I hope this will translate int
o a higher ceiling of allocations for institutions of higher learning. In this way, many Namibians can obtain quality education and actively become their own emancipators in the fight against structural and historical poverty,’ he said.

Mbumba, who is also the chancellor of Unam, stressed that a well-educated labour force, which is globally competitive is essential for the industrial development of the country, specifically with the latest developments in the energy sector such as investments in the Green Hydrogen sector and discoveries of oil and gas quantities which will require skilled and professional human resources to ensure that Namibia derives maximum gains from the utilisation of its local mineral resources.

At the same event, Unam Vice Chancellor, Kenneth Matengu said the foundation aims to promote and facilitate the development and achievement of higher education objectives as a non-profit organisation.

‘Over the next five years our focus will be on expanding educational opportunities and foster
ing an environment conducive to academic excellence, personal growth and a shift to education for industrialisation,’ he noted.

Source: The Namibia Press Agency

WINDHOEK: The Ministry of Education, Arts, and Culture (MoEAC) has allocated N.dollars 40 000 per region towards the operations of the national arts directorate to implement programmes aimed at arts education under the 2023/24 financial year.

Responding to Nampa’s questions recently, the ministry’s Executive Director, Sanet Steenkamp, said a total of N.dollars 66.4 million (N.dollars 66 409 000) was budgeted for the national arts directorate, of which a combined N.dollars 570 000 was allocated for all regions to implement programmes for arts education.

‘Close to two thirds of the budget allocation to the directorate covers staff benefits and salaries, as well as other operational costs, leaving very little left to implement our programmes. The national arts budget represents about 0.00041 per cent of the ministerial budget,’ she said.

Steenkamp explained that salaries and benefits make up 59 per cent of the total budget standing at N.dollars 39 092 000, while subsidies to institutions total N.dollars 22 78
0 000 representing 34 per cent share of the budget, noting the head office including the College of the Arts (COTA) is allocated N.dollars 3 967 000, which includes costs of daily subsistence allowance, utilities, maintains and repairs.

She noted that the arts directorate faces great challenge of funding and as a result does not have enough human resources like necessary specialised experts and researchers, noting that currently the directorate is short-staffed with a total of 12 staff members at the head of office, while the majority (72 employees) are employed at COTA.

Steenkamp further noted that as per the annual plan of 2023/24, the directorate has prioritised reviewing existing legal frameworks including National Arts Fund Act No 1 of 2005, the National Art Gallery of Namibia Act No 14 of 2000, as well as the establishment of a legal framework for COTA.

‘We also plan to improve the operations and service delivery at COTA and carry out research on the cultural and creative sector, as well as formulate
a creative industries strategy,’ she added.

Steenkamp highlighted that subsidised institutions include National Arts Gallery of Namibia with N.dollars 8 348 000; National Arts Council of Namibia, which received N.dollars 5 500 000 and National Theatre of Namibia with N.dollars 8 100 000.

Source: The Namibia Press Agency

The Namibia National Teachers Union (Nantu) has called on unemployed teachers to register with their regional offices for assistance in finding employment and developing valuable skills.

Nantu secretary general, Loide Shaanika in an interview on Wednesday highlighted the union’s commitment to supporting teachers in finding employment, amongst others through coaching in how to conduct themselves during job interviews.

‘Many unemployed teachers have neglected our office, which has limited their chances of employment. In the past, teachers who have registered themselves with the organisation have successfully gotten employment,’ she said.

Shaanika said by registering, they can access guidance and resources to improve their job prospects as Nantu offers psychological and social support to members.

‘Unemployed teachers go through a lot when they are looking for jobs so we try to encourage them and teach them modern skills, especially for the fourth industrial revolution which is the future,’ said the secretary
general.

She also urged teachers to understand where the world is going and to educate and mentor learners on career development.

‘The world is moving forward and as teachers, we need to put a lot of emphasis on career development so we can shape a good future for our learners,’ Shaanika said.

She said with emphasis on career development can help to reduce unemployment in future.

‘Learners will be mentored on careers that can help them secure employment instead of career choices that will leave them on the streets,’ said Shaanika.

Shaanika also said that they are planning on advising the Ministry of Education, Arts, and Culture on the school curriculum so it can incorporate more training opportunities that are relevant to the modern era.

‘We want to advise the government to develop more vocational training centres because vocational training is the future,’ said Shaanika.

Source: The Namibia Press Agency