WINDHOEK – As of this year students who wish to apply for state funding to study at foreign institutions are required to have obtained a minimum of 35 points and above in Grade 12, the Namibia Student Financial Assistance Fund (NSFAF) said yesterday. The NSFAF advances loans, bursaries and scholarship to Namibian students. Previously government funded students were required to have a minimum of 25 points and above irrespective of whether they wanted to study at domestic or foreign institutions. However, for those studying at local institutions the passing threshold remains the same at a minimum of 25 points. Hilya Nghiwete, head of the NSFAF secretariat explained the change in the threshold saying certain fields of study are more prominent, but there is a skills deficit in such areas. She revealed that the country is currently faced with a skills deficit of over 650 chartered accountants, an unspecified number of medical specialists in fields such as oncology, neurology, as well as ear, throat and nose specialists among others. “No student is leaving the country if they do not have 35 points in six subjects and at least an E symbol in English. These students must study at institutions that are accredited and approved by that country of origin. Such students must also study in a priority field of study, which will enable them to create employment in Namibia once they have completed. This rule is applicable as of this year. If a student has lower than 35 points, he or she can study at local institutions,” she said yesterday during a breakfast meeting where she also highlighted plans aimed at improving the fund, as well as its functions and its activities for 2014. The president of the Namibia National Student’s Organisation (Nanso), Thimoteus Angala welcomed the new requirements. “We commend the fund for adjusting the points to 35 and above for students to study abroad. At least students must go outside and study fields that will add value to the country,” he commented. Since its inception to date, the fund has sponsored close to 58 000 students. The fund could however not shed light on the number of it has funded and who have graduated, because they do not have any records. “The fund will know once we implement tracer studies. And then we need to recalculate the loans. In order to recover, you need to trace the students. It can be done through the Ministry of Finance’s Inland Revenue Service and Social Security. We have started discussions so they can assist us,” she revealed. The fund’s three products of study are the merit-based scholarship to which 10 percent of funding is allocated, the grant for priority fields of study to which about 20 percent of the funding goes and loans for non-priority fields of study, to which the largest share of funding about 70 percent is allocated. She also highlighted some of the challenges the fund is facings, which include repatriation of bodies once a student dies while studying abroad. “When they get sick or die while studying abroad, who will repatriate the body?” she queried, saying these are some of the issues the fund needs to strategise about. Another issue she singled out was the incomplete student database, which makes the process of tracing students after they graduate difficult. “Yes, our system is not up to date but there are other factors as well. At times, you find that we thought we have paid all the students. But we later hear there is a student for example in Shanghai who is not paid. In such instances, we heavily rely on our Embassies to assist us. Our loan amount comprises of four components namely accommodation, books, tuition and transport. So we need all student information and their accounts. We also need online registration to speed up the whole awarding, selection and recovery process,” she noted. Nghiwete further said in order to improve the fund, they have created new structures and have also revised the governing Act. “In the past we did not know how many students applied for a particular course. But now we have a register of all regions. As of today, we will start developing our strategic plan,” she said. By Albertina Nakale
Posted on: Wed, 22 Jan 2014 09:24:16 +0000
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