Reprioritise budget cuts

State funding towards education has regrettably declined and the austerity measures undertaken by government are biting hard. It is not only education that is hard hit by government budget cuts; other sectors are also feeling the pinch. These austerity measures now threaten children and the poverty stricken. Government is clearly struggling to expand its fiscal space to promote socio-economic development across the country. In the area of education it is lamentable that the sector finds itself in ruins. Government has already announced in April that subsidies to learners at public schools would be cut by 50% from N$500 to N$250 per learner. This ruthless undertaking threatens the quality of education, especially the most vulnerable, our children, who are not privileged enough to be enrolled at private schools. News that government through the ministry of education, has mercilessly decided to shut down the media department at the College of the Arts is lamentable and sad, to say the least. The future of the over 140 students is now in jeopardy and they will most likely end up on the streets with no training opportunities. The students marched this week against the cancellation of classes at the college, saying it affected many of them, before calling on the ministry to prioritise their education. It is unbelievable that government has turned education and the poor people of this country into the sacrificial lamb of its budget cuts. The government's position is indefensible and there is an urgency to seriously reconsider these budget cuts and reprioritise. Government's priority should be to educate the Namibian child and not venture into the business of lowering its priorities to the detriment of our Namibian citizens. The budget roller-coaster has now become a pattern in our country and key areas such as education and healthcare must receive utmost priority to promote the well-being of all the citizens of our country without favour, instead of channelling billions into the defence budget. It is the core function of the authorities, mandated by the citizens of Namibia, to ensure that our colleges, universities, schools and health systems are functional and well-funded with the money provided by citizen taxpayers and to avoid unacceptable blunders of this magnitude.