By: Justicia Shipena
Kavango West University of Namibia (UNAM) campus students have expressed unhappiness over what they claim to be unfair distribution of laptops by the Namibia Students Financial Assistance Fund (NSFAF).
Friday morning, third- and four-year UNAM students in Nkurenkuru staged a protest against NSFAF, led by the Namibia Africa Students’ Association (NASA)’s secretary-general Gellasius Kandunda.
Kandunda said when NSFAF released the notice for students to apply for the laptops, they did not specify which category of students must apply.
“This year, NSFAF released a notice that every student can apply for a laptop. So, students applied for the laptops, signed contracts for them and in the city, they received their laptops, and now here in the villages and towns they only came in early August,” he said.
Kandunda told The Villager that the students hoped to receive the laptops immediately after appending signatures to contracts.
“To our surprise, when the NSFAF agents came here, they told us that they are only giving first and second year (students), and they proudly said that third and fourth years were not going to (be) provided with laptops simply because ‘you guys will be completing your studies soon’. That is why we are upset,” he said.
Kandunda stressed that the agreement signed between the parties never stated that they would not give third and fourth-year students.
“The contract agreement was for the students to give N$3 000, and NSFAF (would) top-up the rest. They never released a notice that year students be excluded.”
In May 2022, NSFAF announced the availability of student laptops and invited students to apply at a minimal cost of N$3 000.
This was to be paid either by cash or taking a loan with NSFAF.
A fourth-year student at UNAM, Mario Haufiku, said he feels left out.
“The portal showed that my approval was pending, but it never said I did not qualify for it. I feel left out,” said Haufiku.
Meanwhile, another student who spoke on condition of anonymity said after some third-year students engaged the NSFAF agency and wrote letters, the demonstration was called off.
“We started getting our laptops after that. I was left out, but I (later) received my laptop,” he said.
In response, NSFAF’s acting chief executive officer, Kennedy Kandume, said the state entity had purchased 10 500 laptops, and the distribution started last year.
Kandume said only a few laptops were left after the first application and distribution.
“Last year, many students did not apply, and we only distributed 2 000 laptops. If 7000 or so were left, those are the ones we are distributing,” he said.
In 2020, sstudents funded by NSFAF complained that they applied for these laptops, but the delivery was delayed.
They said this has negatively affected their studies since universities have shifted to online learning for many modules and courses after face-to-face learning and teaching were suspended due to Covid-19.
The fund budgeted N$6 000 for each laptop when NSFAF procured 32 000 laptops.
At the same time, the fund had placed an order for 10 500 Lenovo and HP laptops for N$59 million last year.
However, with the complaints of exclusion by students, Kandume said it does not make sense for the fund to offer laptops to third and four-year students as they would complete their studies in a few months.
“It also does not make sense for us to give laptops to someone in the third year. That is when students complete their studies. Logically it only makes sense to give to those in their first and second year because the number of available laptops can only accommodate those in the first and second years.”
He lamented that the fund never promised anyone laptops, adding that he does not understand the narrative by the students.
“So, nobody promised them a laptop. We opened up applications for laptops. If those students applied last year, they would get because more laptops were available. I don’t understand when they say they were promised because nobody promised them anything. Laptops are tools for studying, and they are not somebody who will be done with studies and end up keeping them at home for what,” said the NSFAF boss.