At the end of last week, the Namibia Qualifications Authority (NQA) withdrew its recognition of the privately owned educational institute.

The NQA cited the termination of franchising agreements between Bema and two of its largest accreditation bodies, City and Guilds and the Institute of Commercial Management (ICM), as the reason for withdrawing the college's recognition.

The NQA, City and Guilds and ICM have said that students writing exams at the end of the year need not worry about the validity of their diplomas, as the three bodies would arrange for the exams to take place, with more information to follow on Friday.

Many students at yesterday's meeting were not convinced of reports they had read in local newspapers, while others needed to hear it from the institution itself.

"Why doesn't the director speak to us?" came a voice from the crowded classroom, while another concurred, "We only hear things through each other and through the news!" The meeting was arranged by a group of students who had gone to see the Director, Bernard Makau, on Friday after reading the reports in the local newspapers.

While some students at yesterday's meeting decided that they would request their money back, others had greater concerns.

"We can get our money back, but what about the year we've wasted? We need our education."

When Makau finally appeared two hours later, many of the students had already left the meeting, frustrated with the established "committee", who they argued knew just as little as they did.

Makau failed to answer many of the students' questions to their satisfaction.

He said the college planned to take the matter to court, with the aim of nullifying the NQA's decision.

"Up to now, I have not received an official letter from the NQA or Government to tell us what we're reading in the press," he told The Namibian earlier.

"What kind of professionalism is that?" He said although the NQA cited the termination of agreements with ICM and City and Guilds as its reason for discrediting the college, he believed it was the other way round - that the NQA had influenced their decisions.

He handed the newspaper a letter sent to him by the ICM, which stated that they made their decision after "lengthy discussions with governmental bodies in Namibia", without ever inspecting Bema themselves.

City and Guilds, he said, had also not completed their inspection of the institution, prematurely terminating their agreement with the college this month.

"Is it City and Guilds or NQA who terminated us? We want the truth," Makau said to the remaining fifty-plus students who had waited to see him.

Last week, Makau told The Namibian that the NQA was "attacking" Bema because one of its Council members, Dawid Namwandi, was the owner of a competing institute, The International University of Management.

"We haven't even handed in our application for accreditation to the NQA," he said.

NQA Director Frans Gertze, speaking to The Namibian on Thursday, said that the decision to terminate Bema's accreditation was made by a 36-member Council, and not by Namwandi alone.

The students elected a committee of 16 people, who are to come up with a resolution which they plan to hand to the Ministry of Education and the NQA by Friday.

Local News Headlines Of The Last 48 Hours

•  Big Brother Africa 3: Quirky SMSes
•  Treason witnesses' trial set to continue June '09
•  Town council suspends its foreman
•  Stolen dog rescued at Swakopmund
•  Water for Kavango wildlife
•  Biodiversity management - Walvis Bay sets an example
•  NSHR sets 'conditions' for Police
•  RDP takes stock of Omuthiya election
•  Young woman raped at dam
•   Tanzanian PM to tour Namibia
•  Husband and wife bust for cocaine
•  Witchcraft giving car thieves easy ride
•  Outcry over shebeens grows