Free tertiary education: Unions fear policy may be short-lived

The Namibia National Students Organisation (Nanso) and the Students Union of Namibia (SUN) welcome free tertiary education, but fear its long-term sustainability and current policy limitations.

Nanso has expressed concerns about the absence of a long-term funding law for the long-awaited free tertiary education plan.

The student body’s spokesperson, Jessy Abraham, brought this up yesterday at the government’s announcement of the start of the free tertiary education plan.

The announcement was made by minister of education, innovation, youth, sport, arts and culture Sanet Steenkamp.

“The ministry’s announcement does not include a dedicated legislative funding mechanism. What happens in five years? What happens when there is a fiscal crisis? Free education cannot be sustained on the government’s budget alone,” Abraham said.

She said while the removal of tuition and registration fees is a major step forward, the current structure leaves critical gaps, including reduced income thresholds that may exclude working-class families, and non-tuition support of N$17 000, which Nanso says is not enough.

Abraham further criticised the continued use of means-tested loans for non-tuition support.

“Students will graduate with debt. Our position has always been that students should graduate debt-free. Education should not come with a repayment burden,” she said.

SUN legal secretary Intelligent Katire yesterday said the exclusion of postgraduate qualifications and students pursuing additional qualifications contradicts the country’s stated vision of building a knowledge-based economy.

“How do we develop specialised skills when further education remains accessible only to those who can afford it?” he asked.

Katire also raised concerns about institutional capacity limits, noting that universities and technical and vocational education and training (TVET) centres benefiting from the policy would still be restricted to their approved intake numbers.

“While administratively understandable, this would likely continue to exclude many qualified and ambitious students who have, for years, been shut out of education due to financial barriers and limited space not lack of merit.

“The capacity limitation is going to contradict the policy at a high level,” he said.

Katire warned that without expanding institutional capacity and supporting further education, the policy risks becoming “selective and symbolic”, reinforcing inequality rather than removing it.

Despite the concerns, he said students appreciate the clarity provided.

“At least students will enjoy the festive season, knowing how next year is going to be for them. We welcome the clarity,” he said.

At a press conference on the implementation of subsidised tertiary education, Steenkamp said all first-time undergraduate students at NQF levels 5 to 8, as well as TVET trainees from levels 1 to 6, will receive a 100% subsidy for tuition and registration fees.

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