NANSO intensifies student advocacy
Creating a pandemic resilient education system
The campaign will put consistent pressure on relevant government ministries, internet service providers and mobile telephone companies.
The Namibia National Students Organisation (NANSO) has joined hands with the All African Students' Union (AASU) to advocate for and strengthen the education and digital rights of students.
The two organisations launched a 6-month long campaign to help combat the inaccessibility of digital equipment for students, they said in a recent statement.
The campaign, pioneered by AASU will work with member unions and student unions across SADC.
"The overall goal of the project is to ascertain the impact of Covid-19 on education.
“Furthermore, to ensure the development of a pandemic resilient digital rights agenda and reimagined pandemic resilient education system accessible to all students," Naboth De Celestino, NANSO secretary for political and international affairs, said.
Pressure
According to De Celestino, the campaign will be beneficial to all students, particularly marginalised SADC students.
Battling a pandemic
During Covid-19, students were forced to learn online, whether resources were available or not.
The campaign will apply consistent pressure on relevant government ministries, internet service providers and mobile telephone companies.
"During the peak of the pandemic, 220 million tertiary education students were impacted by closures of campuses globally.
“The closure of schools has intensified the vulnerability of girls since they have increasingly become susceptible to violence and face child marriage and teenage pregnancy," the student organisation emphasized.
Student assistance
NANSO has questioned measures put in place by the government to assist students.
"Government rolled out several measures in an effort to continue education during the pandemic. However, the teaching models are questionable, and the assessment models leave a lot to be desired."
The Namibia students' financial assistance fund (NSFAF) offered applications for laptops costing at least N$3 000.
Interested students could either pay cash or borrow the funds from NSFAF. However, several students did not qualify, for several reasons.
NANSO notes that learning from home is still a challenge, because of limited resources, thus the organisation is "working around the clock to curb that."
The two organisations launched a 6-month long campaign to help combat the inaccessibility of digital equipment for students, they said in a recent statement.
The campaign, pioneered by AASU will work with member unions and student unions across SADC.
"The overall goal of the project is to ascertain the impact of Covid-19 on education.
“Furthermore, to ensure the development of a pandemic resilient digital rights agenda and reimagined pandemic resilient education system accessible to all students," Naboth De Celestino, NANSO secretary for political and international affairs, said.
Pressure
According to De Celestino, the campaign will be beneficial to all students, particularly marginalised SADC students.
Battling a pandemic
During Covid-19, students were forced to learn online, whether resources were available or not.
The campaign will apply consistent pressure on relevant government ministries, internet service providers and mobile telephone companies.
"During the peak of the pandemic, 220 million tertiary education students were impacted by closures of campuses globally.
“The closure of schools has intensified the vulnerability of girls since they have increasingly become susceptible to violence and face child marriage and teenage pregnancy," the student organisation emphasized.
Student assistance
NANSO has questioned measures put in place by the government to assist students.
"Government rolled out several measures in an effort to continue education during the pandemic. However, the teaching models are questionable, and the assessment models leave a lot to be desired."
The Namibia students' financial assistance fund (NSFAF) offered applications for laptops costing at least N$3 000.
Interested students could either pay cash or borrow the funds from NSFAF. However, several students did not qualify, for several reasons.
NANSO notes that learning from home is still a challenge, because of limited resources, thus the organisation is "working around the clock to curb that."
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