Namwandi concerned about brain drain

The movement of highly-educated individuals from their countries of birth to countries where they anticipate better opportunities and attractive working conditions, affects Africa negatively, the founder of the International University of Management (IUM) says. Officially opening the IUM 2016 academic year on Wednesday, the university’s founder David Namwandi said “brain drain” is one of the key challenges confronting tertiary institutions in Africa. This contributes to the significant loss of economic potential for the continent, he said, while calling on African governments to take a drastic step to reverse this trend. “African governments should help influence the development and implementation of policies aimed at improving the living and working conditions of African professional staff at home. “African governments can invest in rebuilding universities and research centres so as to create research infrastructure that facilitates world-class research while providing financial support to young scientists and entrepreneurs that will target relevant research for their home countries’ development priorities,” said Namwandi. He suggested that African governments should encourage diaspora participation in initiatives that address critical issues in Africa, while investing in local institutions to create an enabling environment for skills-exchange with international institutions/persons. On her part, IUM vice-chancellor Virginia Namwandi announced that they are in the final stage of preparations to start the construction of sports facilities at its Dorado campus. Such facilities will include a football stadium and facilities for other sports codes such as basketball, squash and table tennis. She announced that the IUM had purchased two 62-seater busses and three Iveco buses to provide improved transport services to students. One of the 62-seater buses and one Iveco bus have been outsourced to bring in additional revenue for the university, said the vice-chancellor. She noted that the IUM has opened up its female hostel for students from various tertiary institutions in Windhoek, adding that out of the 172 spaces available 33 have been taken up by female students from other tertiary institutions, while 10 were awarded to previously disadvantaged groups through IUM’s collaboration with the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM). “The growth of IUM is not just limited to Windhoek alone. As we speak, an office block to the tune of N$2.4 million with the capacity to seat no less than 80 staff, is well underway in Ongwediva - our second largest campus. The construction of the campus at Nkurenkuru to the tune of N$23 million is also well underway,” she stressed. The IUM also now offers short courses, tailor-made programmes and consultancies to staff members and the public. NAMPA