Government says ‘no’ to Polytechnic

THE Polytechnic of Namibia will not be allowed to change its name to the University of Science and Technology.
Cabinet last week denied the request, warning the Polytechnic to refrain from using the name University of Science and Technology based on the fact that the Polytechnic was established by an Act of Parliament.

Education Minister Abraham Iyambo said on Friday that following Cabinet’s consideration of a number of proposals, ‘there will be no name change for now.’This decision could potentially harm the institution’s international funding programmes, as sources say the Polytechnic has received funding based on designating itself as a university. On its website, the Polytechnic states that it is ‘a thriving university of science and technology’. Iyambo said a name change could only be considered once a comprehensive review on Higher Education had been undertaken, including cost and duplication analysis.Cabinet underlined this requirement by adding that a review of the entire higher education system in Namibia was needed before any name changes could be considered.As to the question of Government funding to the Polytechnic, Iyambo said the ‘funding formula’ was a separate issue that was still under consideration.Iyambo said Cabinet had to consider the cost of two universities, and whether it would cause unwarranted and fruitless duplication.Iyambo said both the University of Namibia (Unam) and the Polytechnic of Namibia had improved ‘tremendously’ during the past two decades, ‘both in infrastructure and course content’.

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