By: Ndinaleao Shingenge
Swapo member of parliament Modestus Amutse has recommended the finance ministry to set up a special revolving fund to support and pay for new and continuing students from backgrounds plagued by poverty.
Amutse made this call in the National Assembly on Tuesday.
“A month after the national budget is approved, the fund must have enough money to pay for these students starting in January,” he said.
He said this would close the gap between institutions’ academic year and the national budget adoption.
He also suggested that the Namibia Students’ Financial Assistance Fund (Nsfaf) should devise a criterion for selection that will allow it to pinpoint the students who will benefit from the fund as being the most disadvantaged and financially strapped.
According to Amutse, the challenges that prolong the NSFAF program processes are that the scheme cannot award both ongoing and new students because the approval of the budget, which was discussed on February 24 2022, has not been granted yet.
“Disadvantaged students are inconvenienced and unable to begin their academic year because some universities do not permit students to register with little or no registration amount, whether awarded or not,” he adds.
Amutse also added that students from impoverished backgrounds would need non-tuition and housing costs in addition to registration and tuition fees to be able to travel to and live in the locations where their institutions are located.
“This results in students giving up their studies, allowing their families to remain trapped in a cycle of poverty.”
He touched on the budget, stating that the budget is divided into four stages, that NSFAF carries out programs using the funds allotted, and lastly, auditing and assessment, in which the Auditor General conducts audits and reports to parliament on government agencies and departments’ spending.
Amutse said education is widely acknowledged as the greatest equaliser and helps alleviate poverty.
“Another well-known reality is that an employed graduate from a home where poverty is rife can help elevate their siblings out of poverty by providing financial aid and serving as an example and ambassador,” he stated.
This year Nsfaf received N$1.6 billion from the national budget to cater for the expected increased number of applicants during the 2022 academic year.
In 2021, the fund received N$1.2 billion in the budget, while it received N$1.5 billion the previous year.
