By:Uakutura Kambaekua
Close to N$504,290 was pledged at a special dinner hosted at Outjo over the weekend to raise funds for the Kunene Regional Development Fund(KRDF) .
The theme of Friday’s gala was “Bridging Towards Equitable & Quality Education for Financially Disadvantaged Kunene Youth”.
The KRDF was established some years back to solicit funds for financially disadvantaged youth of Kunene to assist them enrol in institutions of higher learning.
The gala was officiated by education minister Anna Ester Nghipondoka, who doubles as KRDF’s honorary patron.
As the programme’s patron, Nghipondoka has pledged N$20 000 towards the fund.
She lauded the regional leadership for initiating this noble idea of raising funds to support the vulnerable youth of the society which eventually will bring them into the mainstream of the country’s socio-economic development.
According to her, the education sector is crucial and a driving force for all other sectors for development and a tool in fighting all socio-economic ills affecting society.
“However, the effect of limited resources is crippling the government’s efforts to promote teaching and learning at both basic and tertiary education levels. For example, the Fifth National Development Plan (NDP5) advocates that by the end of this year (2022), all learners should have access to equitable inclusive quality education that qualifies them to pursue higher education,” the minister pointed out.
“This desired outcome wants to improve learners’ transition to higher education and subsequently empower them to enter the job market by providing the necessary knowledge and skills,” she added.
The minister noted that NDP5 targets aim to improve the tertiary education completion rate from 50% to 70%, increase educational institutions with access to ICTs to 83% and increase the funding for postgraduate students in priority areas to 85%.
“Despite the government’s efforts in achieving the national target of widening the access to higher education through equality and inclusion, and to increase higher education institutions (HEI), students especially from rural areas and previously disadvantaged groups such Kunene region miss out on some of the opportunities mainly due limited access to information and financing schemes. As such the region continues to record among others, the following challenges; low student enrollment rate at institutions of higher learning associated with lack of financial support. This challenge affects mainly youth from poor families,” she said.
Nghipondoka also pointed out that high school drop-out and low graduation rates eventually lead to wasted investments, while bemoaning a lack of institutions of high learning institutions and infrastructures for quality teaching, research and innovation in the Kunene region.
She said the KRDF initiative demonstrates responsive leadership, noting that it has an impact on addressing the region’s challenges and a catalyst for increasing youth enrollment at institutions of higher learning, improved universities and vocational completion and graduation rates.
“Our collective pledges will be used to render essential support to the youth in need which eventually will have a tremendous effect in transforming our youth with limited opportunities into responsible citizens with the potential to plough back into the socio-economic development of our country,” she said.
“This effort will culminate in true youth empowerment as advocated in the national targets. In addition to this, it is important to note that the Kunene region is occupied by communities that fall under marginalised and disadvantaged groups. Groups that are disproportionately tormented by poverty. The situation in the Kunene region is exacerbated by the fact that the region is home to marginalised communities, lacks tertiary institutions, limited opportunities and a high rate of unemployment among youth.”
Speaking at the same occasion, Hendrik Gaobaeb, Kunene regional council management committee chairperson stated that financial allocation by the central government does not satisfy the needs on the ground.
Gaobaeb said that the regional development needs keep on escalating while the government budget continues to decline. As leaders, he said, they understand the situation around the budget and hence they decided to initiate the fund to complement government’s efforts.
“We aim to solicit funds to fill the gap and foster sustainable socio-economic development in the region,” he said.
“The KRDF identifies regional priority needs and plans to accomplish its purpose by initiating various fundraising activities such as this gala dinner, asking for sponsorship, and other more. This time around, the region is faced with the challenge of schools leaving youth without opportunities to further their studies, the situation compounded by a lack of tertiary institutions in the region and high poverty levels,” Gaobaeb noted.
He said the regional leadership decided to prioritise this year’s funds to support the education of a Kunene child, focusing on children from very poor households.
The KRDF was established during the 2007/8 financial year, with the sole purpose to secure funding for the learners in Kunene – an initiative by the third regional council under the leadership of former governor Dudu Murorua.
The fund is being implemented jointly by the regional council and the governor’s office and has since helped 83 young people from poor households to the tune of N$285,000. The fund is financed through the allocation of the councillors’ donations programme.
The regional council entered into a partnership with the Namibia Institute of Mining and Technology (NIMT) for the youth to be enrolled at its various campuses for vocational studies.
