Category: Information

TSUMEB: Hai//om Traditional Authority (HTA)’s vice chairperson, Ndapandula Kamati, has urged the Ministry of Education, Arts and Culture (MoEAC) to teach children in their indigenous languages.

Kamati said this during the celebration of International Mother Language Day at Tsumeb on Saturday in the Oshikoto Region.

‘We want to be taught in our language and be proud in our language and also on how to do poems, design art in our very own language,’ she said.

Kamati further expressed disappointment at the fact that some languages, such as hers, are not recognised formally in Namibia.

‘It is so unfortunate that our language is not written and we are not even recognised in local schools, which makes it difficult for our learners to go forward with their studies,’ said Kamati.

MoEAC Director for the Oshikoto Region, Aletta Eises, said they have 7 000 Khoisan speaking learners in schools, and only Khoekoegowab is taught in schools with only 100 learners being taught the language from grade 1 to 12.

‘It is high
time we stand up for our languages so we preserve them for our future generation,’ said Eises.

She further urged people to value their languages and stop denouncing them as that is their identity and their pride.

‘If the mother tongues are not investing and speaking their languages in their social setting and meetings, then the language will be extinct.

Deputy Mayor of Tsumeb, Anmire Garises, at the same occasion urged Tsumeb’s Hai//om communities to protect and preserve their culture as well as to recognise its significance in shaping a collective future.

‘Let us celebrate the beauty of our mother tongues and recognise the importance of it in our society,’ said Garises.

She further said that they should wear their traditional attire with pride and speak the language with pride, as well as continue celebrating International Mother Language Day

The theme of the event was to set goals for preserving endangered languages, promoting multilingualism and sustaining linguistic heritage.

Source: The Namibia P
ress Agency

WINDHOEK: The Vice Chancellor of the University of Namibia, Prof Kenneth Matengu has warned against the allocation of insufficient funds to critical sectors in the country, saying it may hamper development.

Matengu was speaking during a high level tertiary education funding budget review dinner organised by the Namibia Press Agency on Thursday night. Prime Minister Saara Kuugongelwa-Amadhila officiated the event. Matengu stressed that services of strategic interest which are critical to a country’s development are education, health, security and agriculture.

‘If there is no investment in those services, a nation will fault in its development objectives and the obligations the State has to the people will be compromised. Typically if a country is in trouble, governments that use this model will increase investments in these sectors. If you are not allocating resources to cause development to happen, there is a problem,’ he said.

He further reiterated that the national budget ought to cause development throu
gh building competencies that the country needs.

‘If you don’t assign resources you have not made a decision. As a country we need to reflect if we are really using the budget to steer education, to achieve the competencies a sector needs. A national budget is a platform that Government uses to allow its nation to know how the resources it has raised will be used. It is a system that allows for accountability in terms of tax payers as well as the legislation,’ Matengu added.

Source: Namibia Press Agency

Namibia Student Financial Assistance Fund (NSFAF) company secretary, Fillemon Immanuel, has announced that NSFAF, under the directive of the Office of the Prime Minister, is actively reviewing its funding policy to enhance inclusivity and equity.

Immanuel made these statements during the high-level tertiary education funding budget review dinner held in the capital on Thursday. The event was held under the theme ‘Funding Modalities in the Age of AI, Emerging Sectors, 4IR, and 5IR.’

‘We are looking at our funding policy with the intention of catering for those students that may be falling between the cracks, but I must say that even if we review this policy there will be a threshold against which the students will be measured to ensure quality and a return on investment,’ said Immanuel.

He urged business leaders and employers to encourage former NSFAF beneficiaries to contribute to the fund’s financial sustainability by repaying their loans.

‘We want to be able to complement what is allocated to us by gov
ernment and the one way to do so is through our recovery programme,’ he said.

He said NSFAF prioritises funding for studies of information technology, computer science, food technology, water engineering and telecommunication, which are closely linked to artificial intelligence and which will enable the attainment of an industrialised Namibia.

Minister of Higher Education, Training, and Innovation, Itah Kandjii-Murangi, emphasised Namibia’s commitment to leveraging technology for future needs through the TVET, Higher Education, and Innovation Policy Review.

‘The interaction of cyber-physical systems in industry 4.0 brings about smart manufacturing in which humans and machines reconcile and find a way to work together to improve the means and efficiency of production. These innovative technologies have the potential to revolutionise the energy sector by increasing productivity, enhancing safety, and cutting carbon dioxide emissions,’ said Kandjii-Murangi.

She added that it is imperative that universities a
nd other institutions of higher learning brace themselves to revolutionise their teaching approaches through the adoption of new technologies to produce the relevant skills for the oil and gas, as well as green energy, value chains.

Source: Namibia Press Agency

Higher Education, Training and Innovation Minister, Itah Kandjii-Murangi has said the development of professional and technical human resources, research, science, technology and innovation infrastructure is the cornerstone of the transformation of the Namibian economy.

Kandjii-Murangi made the remarks during a high-level tertiary education funding budget review dinner held in the capital on Thursday.

She said while almost half of the world’s population is made up of young people it is also evident in Namibia, where the youth constitute 60 per cent of the population, adding that it is for this reason that special attention has to be paid to engaging and imparting the requisite skills to the youth.

‘Young people are the future leaders, in a globalised and interconnected world, modern development theories tell us that innovative human capital is our competitive leverage, thus they are valuable assets and trustees of our posterity. They are, like everybody else, custodians of sustainable development, a role f
or which they should and must be prepared,’ she said.

The minister noted that in the last few years, access to higher education and the diversity of programme offerings at universities have expanded significantly, citing that due to the increase in student numbers, it is imperative to increase the provision of state-of-the-art infrastructure and facilities.

However, one of the strategies that institutions of higher learning can adopt to cater for large numbers of students from ordinary and advanced subsidy school level is to consider introducing bridging programmes, she suggested.

Kandjii-Murangi said her ministry is cognisant of the fact that Namibia has gone through a challenging period characterised by droughts, economic difficulties and the COVID-19 pandemic.

This has impacted Namibians’ ability to enrol their children at higher education institutions and in turn put pressure on the Namibia Student Financial Assistance Fund (NSFAF) in terms of demand for financial support.

In the year 2022, the numbe
r of students receiving financial assistance from NSFAF stood at nearly 15 000 at a cost of N.dollars 1.6 billion, while in 2023 that number grew to approximately 22 000 at a cost of N.dollars 2.1 billion.

The current budget allocation to NSFAF is N.dollars 2.3 billion which represents an increase of N.dollars 200 million from the 2022/2023 budget, she concluded.

The review was held under the theme ‘Funding modalities in the Age of AI, Emerging Sectors, 4IR and 5IR’.

Source: The Namibia Press Agency

WINDHOEK: A delegation comprising 90 young Namibians led by Deputy Minister of Sport, Youth and National Service Emma Kantema-Gaomas participated in the 2024 World Youth Festival (WYF) from 01-07 March 2024 in Sochi, Russia.

The WYF is the largest youth event in the world held by decree of Russian President Vladimir Putin. The festival hosted 20 000 young Russian and foreign leaders and serves as a platform for youth empowerment, cultural exchange and discussions on pressing global issues.

On 03 March the deputy minister participated in the Global Forum of Young Diplomats, a side event of the WYF 2024, where she said: ‘Namibia is committed to turning the youth bulge into an opportunity, by intensifying efforts in implementing the African Union’s Agenda 2063, which envisions an Africa where development is people-driven, relying particularly on the potential offered by its youth.’

She also said that harnessing demographic dividend is not without its challenges, adding that it requires strategic investment in
education, employment and empowerment, particularly of young women and men.

She further said that, as the world discusses the democratic dividend in Africa, they should consider that Africa is the youngest continent. By 2050, it is projected that Africa’s youth population (aged 15-24) will be more than double the 2015 total of 226 million.

‘Namibia is fostering environments where innovation can thrive by promoting an entrepreneurial atmosphere, and providing platforms for skills development. The aim is to ensure that every young person in Namibia can contribute meaningfully to our nation’s prosperity,’ Kantema-Gaomas added.

She also said that to this end, the Russia-Africa partnership plays a critical role in this developmental journey, adding that the collaborative efforts in education, technical training, and cultural exchange programmes have been invaluable in enhancing the capacity of young people.

The festival covered different fields such as business, media, international cooperation, culture, scien
ce, education, volunteering and charity, sports and various areas of public life.

Source: The Namibia Press Agency

WINDHOEK: The University of Namibia (UNAM) Foundation is prioritising the construction of an academic hospital for the training of medical practitioners and for enhanced access to quality care for Namibians.

The construction will cost an estimated N.dollars 1.9 billion, the UNAM Foundation Brand and Fundraising Project’s Executive Director, Bernadette Bock, said during the launch of the project here on Wednesday.

Bock said Namibia is challenged by limited specialised care, healthcare workforce shortages, gaps in training and research, and unequal access to quality medical care, which warrants the construction of an academic hospital.

‘I think it is a well-known fact that unfortunately we still experience unequal access to quality medical care, so the solution the university proposed for this is to pioneer state-of-the-art medical infrastructure,’ she said.

Bock explained that the university hospital will conduct applied and basic scientific research based on Namibia’s health challenges and will use cuttin
g-edge technology and therapies.

She noted that the expected impact is improving healthcare standards, skills development and employment creation, as well as increased community health services through outreach programmes and advanced medical research technology, innovation and medical services specialisation.

According to the strategic development projects booklet issued the total estimated cost for the construction of the academic hospital is N.dollars 1 972 065 233 (USD 105 065 420).

At the same event, UNAM’s Vice Chancellor Kenneth Matengu said the foundation aims to promote and facilitate the development and achievement of higher education objectives as a non-profit organisation.

‘To achieve this, we need support which includes investing in UNAM through the foundation… No support is ever too little; every donation has the potential to make an immense impact,’ he said.

Source: The Namibia Press Agency

WINDHOEK: Aging, inadequate infrastructure, technology and facilities at the University of Namibia (UNAM) limits the implementation of the university’s newly transformed curriculum, UNAM Foundation Executive Director Bernadette Bock, has said.

Speaking at the launch of the UNAM Foundation Brand and Fundraising Project here on Wednesday, Bock said there is a need to enable hybrid learning and teaching classrooms of the future to efficiently implement the new curriculum which adopted a blended learning approach as its overarching pedagogical model of delivery.

UNAM has transformed all their undergraduate programmes in response to the needs of the fourth and fifth Industrial Revolutions.

These programmes were implemented in 2023 in a variety of disciplines including agriculture, engineering, natural sciences, commerce, management, law, education, human sciences, health sciences and veterinary medicine.

She noted that some of the foundation’s projects include finding solutions geared towards learning, teachin
g facilities and technologies responding to both the fourth and fifth Industrial Revolutions, and to align to industry needs.

‘With this we hope to impact student performance and completion rates, we hope to enhance lecturers’ productivity… We are targeting increased graduate employability and increasing inclusion of students with disabilities and varying learning abilities,’ she said.

Amongst other challenges, Bock highlighted that not all phases of UNAM’s veterinary hospital are completed. This negatively impacts teaching, practical learning and animal health services to the public. Bock said the foundation will amongst others aims to ensure a fully equipped and functional animal hospital by developing the final phases of the construction.

Equally, she noted, practical teaching training in vocational education at the school of education is compromised due to the lack of adequate vocational equipment.

‘The challenge here is that teachers are being trained to teach vocational subjects in secondary schools
but they don’s have the equipment… So the teachers being trained need the equipment to test their skills and their knowledge to be able to transfer that knowledge to the students once they go into the labour market and start teaching,’ she stressed.

Bock further said starting with the Khomasdal campus in Windhoek, the foundation project aims to equip the campus workshop with the required vocational equipment to renew and optimise outdated spaces and prime them for the development of a Bachelor of Education programme focused on vocational education.

Source: The Namibia Press Agency