Education no priority: LPM students

The Student Command Element under the mandate of the Landless People's Movement at the University of Namibia says the government does not prioritise education as it claims.Speaking during a media briefing on Friday, the student formation chairperson Joyce Muzengua said the Namibia Students Financial Assistance Fund (NSFAF) choosing to fund 19% (2 925 students) of the new qualifying loan applicants is a clear sign that the government does not prioritise education.“Clearly the students are not the priority in this country. We are told we are the future, but are we the future of this country if we are being put in the backseat?” She further said most of the recipients of the loans are science students as these courses are labelled priority courses, but added that other courses are important too.“It is very unfair for the poor students who are not being funded, because they equally deserve funding,” Muzengua said.She said Unam introduced second semester registration and she foresees many students who hoped to secure the loan not registering, adding they will not get their results and not get back into the hostel due to financial reasons. “Come next semester we are going to have thousands of students not registering and those students will drop out and it is unfair that the government is the one to interrupt the education of the students,” she said.Muzengua said if the government does not have money, Swapo should help, because it claims to be the government, further charging that it is the same government that led the country into the current financial crisis. Meanwhile, finance minister Calle Schlettwein said the government agreed to subsidise NSFAF to the tune of N$1.1 billion; the same amount it was given the previous year. He noted that NSFAF was then directed to source over N$400 million of its shortfall from its previous non-paying beneficiaries, to bring the total amount to what they need for the year.NAMPA

Education no priority: LPM students

Comments

Namibian Sun 2025-11-04

Please login to leave a comment

Education no priority: LPM students

Comments

Namibian Sun 2025-11-04

Please login to leave a comment

Subscription Required to Access Content ×

Login

Subscription Required to Access Content