By: Dwight Links
Not everyone will qualify for the Subsidised Tertiary Education Program, with certain criteria to be put in place to decide who benefits.
The Minister of Education, Sanet Steenkamp, explained this week that certain criteria will determine the smooth roll-out of the plan set to be in motion as of the 2026 academic year. One of the basic starting points has been the eligibility of who would be allowed to participate in this initiative.
“Students who are pursuing a second or more qualifications at the same or at a lower national qualifications framework (NQF) level [will not be allowed to participate]. Funding for repeating students at any level shall be discontinued,” Steenkamp pointed out in the much-anticipated announcement.
A clear announcement was also made about non-nationals not being catered for under this program.
Pointing towards the aspect of quality education and the need for a minimum threshold to be upheld, the announcement indicated that students who are pursuing programs not legally recognised or not of an adequate standard will not be subsidised.
“Students enrolled at institutions and/or in programmes that do not meet legal or quality standard requirements according to the approved National Quality Standards as implemented by the National Council for Higher Education (NCHE), the Namibia Qualifications Authority (NQA) and the Namibia Training Authority (NTA) will not be eligible for funding,” Steenkamp added.
The quality assurance system of the NCHE in Namibia consists of two sub-systems: programme accreditation and institutional audits.
“The quality assurance system was developed against the background of international trends in higher education and the higher education context in Namibia, both at national and institutional levels,” the NCHE explains in its 2009 Quality Assurance policy.
The policy further indicates that the international higher education context has been characterised by “an upsurge in quality assurance activities over the last two decades.” It also highlighted that there are numerous bodies that exist worldwide with the responsibility for quality assurance at institutional, national, and regional levels, both in developed and developing countries.
Another set of students who are going to be impacted negatively are those studying outside of Namibia.
“Students pursuing courses abroad that are in priority fields of study but are offered in tertiary education institutions in Namibia will not be eligible for funding,” Steenkamp added.
The Ministry also indicated that until further notice, postgraduate studies will not be funded under the Subsidised Tertiary Education Funding Model.
“The reason for this decision is to allow ample time for the development of a National List of Priority Fields of Study, which will serve as a key eligibility criterion for future postgraduate funding. In addition, other eligibility criteria will be identified and applied to the funding of postgraduate studies,” the minister explained.
DEGREES OF CONFUSION
Speaking to whether both undergraduate and postgraduate degrees would be covered, the minister noted that only certain categories would be eligible for funding under the subsidy.
“All undergraduate students will be eligible for funding (first primary qualification at the NQF Level 5 up to Level 8, including Honours) at public higher education institutions, receiving a 100% tuition and registration fee subsidy,” Steenkamp stated.
An honours degree in Namibia is considered the first-level post-graduate degree after the prerequisite degree has been completed.
“The Bachelor Honours degrees represent an initial postgraduate specialisation qualification building on a Bachelor degree in the same cognate area, often preparing people for the research-based postgraduate study,” the NQA states on its qualification types identified in the country.
