Namibia’s new president announced that university fees will be scrapped from 2026.
The country’s first female president, President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah, made the announcement in a speech in her virgin state Thursday night.
Nandi-Ndaitwah said in a speech to lawmakers that students will pay “not register” [or] Tuition fees for all public universities and technical colleges”.
However, she said there will be no “large” of additional funds, raising questions about the feasibility of the plan.
Nandi-Ndaitwah said free college education will gradually be phased and “the only contribution as families and students will now be toward accommodation and other related expenses.”
“We heard your cry: ‘The cost has dropped,'” she said.
The money will come from subsidies already provided to some public universities in the country and funds allocated to student financial aid funds, she said.
“If you want to add, we won’t add important ones [amount of funds],” she said.
Among all public schools in the country, secondary and secondary education are already free.
While some student organizations welcomed Nandi-Ndaitwah’s announcement, others criticized it as infeasible and vague.
One of them is the affirmative repositioning of the Student Command (ARSC), which it says is just a strategy the Namibian government is seeking to pay attention.
“No plan, it’s just a confusing announcement [the] What’s the problem [Nandi-Ndaitwah] The group told the BBC.
To elaborate, ARSC questioned which students would benefit – after-school or undergraduate only – and the source of funds.
This sentiment was expressed by this economist Tannen Groenewald, who spoke to the local news website The Windhoek Observer.
He suggested that the cancellation of spending without providing additional funds could result in the number of students being blocked.
He also speculated that it may end up being only available to students from low-income families.
This is what happened in neighboring South Africa.
In 2017, the government introduced the removal of the third-level education fee requirement in the so-called #feesmustfall protests – but only a few students benefited.
It has since been criticized as too restrictive because as the so-called “missing middle” was excluded – those considered too wealthy to obtain financial aid but struggle to afford tuition.
More BBC stories about Namibia:
go bbcafrica.com More news about the African continent.
Follow us on Twitter @bbcafrica,on Facebook BBC Africa Or on Instagram bbcafraca
BBC Africa Podcast
