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Namibia’s newly elected president has declared that university tuition and registration fees will be eliminated starting in 2026.
In her first address to the nation, President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah, making history as the country’s first female president, announced this significant educational reform.
During her speech to lawmakers, Nandi-Ndaitwah stated that students will no longer be required to pay any fees at public universities and technical colleges.
Despite the promising announcement, concerns have been raised regarding the sufficiency of funding, as Nandi-Ndaitwah indicated that there would be no “significant” additional budget allocations for this initiative.
The president highlighted that the implementation of free university education will occur in phases and that families will still need to cover costs associated with accommodation and related expenses.
In her remarks, she acknowledged the longstanding demands from students, referring to the movement known as “the Fees have Fallen,” which has been echoed not only in Namibia but also in neighboring South Africa.
Nandi-Ndaitwah explained that the funding for this initiative would be drawn from existing subsidies given to several public universities and from the national student financial assistance fund.
“We are not going to add a significant amount to the funding,” she affirmed, raising pivotal questions about the long-term sustainability of the program.
Currently, primary and secondary education is provided free of charge in all public schools across Namibia.
While some student organizations have welcomed Nandi-Ndaitwah’s proposal, others have expressed skepticism, deeming it impractical and ambiguous.
The Affirmative Repositioning Student Command (ARSC) voiced its concerns, labeling the announcement as merely an effort to gain attention from the public.
“This lacks a coherent plan, prompting uncertainties about what the president means by tertiary education,” the organization remarked to the BBC.
Furthermore, the ARSC questioned which categories of students would benefit from this initiative—whether it would extend to postgraduates or be limited to undergraduate students—and where the necessary funding would be sourced.
This line of questioning resonates with the analysis provided by economist Tannen Groenewald in a discussion with the local publication Windhoek Observer.
Groenewald warned that abolishing fees without an accompanying increase in funding may result in limited student enrollment.
He suggested that over time, the policy might only benefit students coming from low-income backgrounds, a similar situation observed in South Africa.
In 2017, South Africa’s government agreed to remove tertiary education fees amidst the #FeesMustFall protests, yet the benefits were felt by only a fraction of students.
That initiative has faced criticism for being overly restrictive, as it excluded the “missing middle”—those who earn too much to qualify for financial aid but too little to afford tuition fees comfortably.
Source
www.bbc.com