Free tertiary education for a broken system? Ndumba J Kamwanyah
OPINION
Namibia’s move toward free tertiary education looks good at first glance. It speaks to fairness and gives hope to many young people who are locked out of higher education because they cannot afford fees. But where are the jobs for the graduates under the new free tertiary education funding model?
In a country with deep inequality, improving access is necessary and long overdue. No one should be denied education simply because they are poor.
However, this policy is not revolutionary. Free education alone does not fix the real crisis in our education system and job market.
We are putting public money into a system that is already failing many of its graduates.
Every year, thousands of young people finish their degrees and diplomas, only to end up unemployed and frustrated. Making education free without fixing this problem only increases the number of graduates competing for very few jobs.
The biggest gap in this discussion is jobs. Most graduates do not struggle because they lack qualifications but because the economy cannot absorb them. There is a clear mismatch between what our institutions of higher learning teach and what the job market needs. As a result, graduates are pushed onto the streets with certificates that do not translate into work or income.
If free tertiary education is to make sense, it must go hand in hand with serious reforms. We need stronger links between universities, vocational institutions, and industry. We need to invest in skills that respond to Namibia’s real economic needs, including technical, vocational, and entrepreneurial skills. Without this, free education becomes an expensive promise with little return.
Access is important, but access alone is not enough. Before celebrating free tertiary education as a major breakthrough, Namibia must first fix the problem of graduate unemployment. Otherwise, we are simply funding a broken system and raising expectations that the economy cannot meet.
*Ndumba Kamwanyah is a public policy expert (PhD) focusing on the interplay of social welfare policy, development and democracy. He is also a peace and reconciliation scholar and a certified mediator with a master's in conflict studies.
In a country with deep inequality, improving access is necessary and long overdue. No one should be denied education simply because they are poor.
However, this policy is not revolutionary. Free education alone does not fix the real crisis in our education system and job market.
We are putting public money into a system that is already failing many of its graduates.
Every year, thousands of young people finish their degrees and diplomas, only to end up unemployed and frustrated. Making education free without fixing this problem only increases the number of graduates competing for very few jobs.
The biggest gap in this discussion is jobs. Most graduates do not struggle because they lack qualifications but because the economy cannot absorb them. There is a clear mismatch between what our institutions of higher learning teach and what the job market needs. As a result, graduates are pushed onto the streets with certificates that do not translate into work or income.
If free tertiary education is to make sense, it must go hand in hand with serious reforms. We need stronger links between universities, vocational institutions, and industry. We need to invest in skills that respond to Namibia’s real economic needs, including technical, vocational, and entrepreneurial skills. Without this, free education becomes an expensive promise with little return.
Access is important, but access alone is not enough. Before celebrating free tertiary education as a major breakthrough, Namibia must first fix the problem of graduate unemployment. Otherwise, we are simply funding a broken system and raising expectations that the economy cannot meet.
*Ndumba Kamwanyah is a public policy expert (PhD) focusing on the interplay of social welfare policy, development and democracy. He is also a peace and reconciliation scholar and a certified mediator with a master's in conflict studies.
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