POLY DENIES FEES INCREASE, BUDGET DEFICIT LINK THE Polytechnic of Namibia (PoN) has denied suggestions that the disputed recent increase in registration fees has been necessitated by the institution’s budget deficit. In an interview, PoN Rector Tjama Tjivikua said that although the institution faced financial difficulties, the increase in registration fees was long overdue. “These claims are unsubstantiated and the result of pure speculation. Tuition fees are not the only source of revenue for the Polytechnic. The increase is essentially an inflationary adjustment on cost of doing business.” Tjivikua said. He added that, as is publicly known, the institution receives a subsidy from the central Government through the Ministry of Education, and this is augmented by tuition income and third-stream fundraising initiatives undertaken by the institution itself. “For several years now the Polytechnic has had to face the reality of a decreasing or stagnant state subsidy in the face of increasing cost of doing business, thus placing a heavy financial burden on the institution. Since its inception the Polytechnic has followed sound financial management practices, against waning state support, allowing the institution to keep its students and the running of its academic operations relatively well buffered,” he said. Tjivikua’s comment comes after over 60 PoN students protested against the increase in registration fees at the Windhoek campus on Monday. The institution increased its registration fees from N$3,000 to N$3,500 for the 2015 academic year. The 16 percent increase means that each student will have to fork out N$7,000 for both semesters, while hostel students will have to pay N$7,000 compared to the N$6,000 they paid last year. In the petition received by the institution’s Director for Communication and Marketing, Kaitira Kandjii, on behalf of the rector, the students demanded a 50 percent reduction in fees. Student Representative Council President Oscar Mwandingi, who led the protest, said the increase placed an unnecessary and unfair burden on the students. He added that the customary two-part registration at the Polytechnic made the burden even heavier for students. “We do not think it is fair to constantly make the students absorb the deficit by charging them more. Management and Government should not hold students accountable for their own complacency. The Polytechnic is an academic institution, not a business,” he said. Most students interviewed said they would not register unless the Polytechnic agreed to reduce the fees, but they would be willing to compromise if the institution agreed to leave the current fees as they were. However, although no specific figure could be provided, Polytechnic said registration has commenced and is on-going as scheduled despite boycott threats. Meanwhile, in contrast to the increase in registration fees at the Poly, the University of Namibia this year decreased its registration fees to N$5,000 from the N$7,000 that students paid last year. “The University decided to reduce the registration fees because in comparison to other higher education institutions in Namibia the N$7,000 that students needed for registration covered a huge chunk of student’s tuition fees. “Thus we came to the conclusion that it’s not necessary for the students to pay the high amount given that some of them only register for one or two subjects,” Unam Public Relations Officer John Haufiku said. He added that in reducing the registration fees, the university took into consideration the socio-economic conditions of the students whilst it also paid attention to the increasing cost of services at the university. Unam said that it had approved an annual increment of 10 percent on the tuition fees but the university chose to keep to the fixed amount of N$5,000 so it would be able to accommodate more people. (Windhoek Observer)
Posted on: Mon, 19 Jan 2015 09:41:35 +0000
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