Transforming Namibia’s higher education through discussions

Jeanette Diergaardt In a recent webinar, various players from the Namibian higher education sector partook in a discussion to outline key issues pertaining to tertiary education. Namibia Higher Education Day took place on 22 July and was celebrated by the Regional Universities Forum for Capacity-Building in Agriculture (RUFORUM).The issue of youth unemployment and unemployed graduates was among the first presentations that took place. The uptake of school leaving matriculates into the higher education system was a topic of discussion as well. During the discussion, the basic education curriculum was mentioned. According to the manager of the Namibia Qualification Framework (NQF), Harmoni Beukes, high schoolers previously migrated from an NQF level 3 from the Namibian Senior Secondary Certificate Ordinary level (NSSCO). A learner could also leave basic education with NSSC Higher level with a NQF level 4, directly into the university system that predominantly has NQF level 6 qualifications, she said, outlining the big jump from high school to tertiary education. However, there are various diploma courses with an NQF level 4 and 5 as well as courses that incorporate level 4 and 5 learning. A key factor that also plays a role are subject choices, whether on higher or ordinary level. Beukes also stated that the higher education curriculum is based on the need of the Namibian industry, although there are still some needs that arise from the industry.On the issue of the uptake of graduates, Mwilima Mushokabanji, CEO of Meatco, strongly encouraged the study of agriculture for the end goal of graduates creating employment opportunities. “We don’t want to produce professional slaves,” he said. According to the Meatco CEO, “Namibians should decolonialise their minds and teach our children it is not a crime to go to a vocational school”. He also shared numbers that outline the lucrative business of agriculture from Meatco’s financial perspective. The University of Namibia (Unam) and Meatco recently signed a memorandum of understanding for the company to house graduates.“RUFORUM is a consortium of African universities that primarily train at a postgraduate level in agriculture and related fields. It was founded in 2004 by African Vice Chancellors,” Dr Alice Mweeta said during her presentation.She is the deputy executive decretary for programme development and implementation at RUFORUM. The webinar can be watched by the public by scanning the QR code; (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b3Eckl-wrFY CREATE QR CODE OF LINK)INFOGRAPHICNumber of enrollments in higher education:Data presented by Sem Shikongo, representative from the National Council of Higher Education. YEAR FEMALE MALE 2017 37 555 18 492 2018 36 921 19 587 2019 44 312 22 110 Higher education rnrollment 2015 2019 No. of students % No. of students % Public institutions 34 917 70.3 46 867 70.6 Private institutions 14 761 29.7 19 561 29.4

Transforming Namibia’s higher education through discussions

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