Minister Steenkamp’s PhD: Balancing national duty, Covid-19 and academic excellence in education

Education minister Sanet Steenkamp says she had to put her doctoral studies on hold during the Covid-19 pandemic due to the pressure of leading the country’s education response at the time.

She revealed this during a public lecture hosted by the University of Namibia (Unam) and the Namibia University of Science and Technology (Nust) in Windhoek on Thursday.

“My national duty comes first,” Steenkamp said she told her supervisors during a meeting in April 2020, when she was the executive director of education, arts and culture.

She said the emotional weight of managing schools during the crisis was overwhelming at times, with long nights and difficult decisions that affected pupils, teachers and families nationwide.

The now minister of education, innovation, youth, sport, arts and culture said strength did not mean being unbreakable.

“I am quite vulnerable, and I admit my vulnerability,” she said.

Steenkamp mentioned moments when she and her team sat together and cried after late-night meetings, only to return the next day to continue with their work.

“Tomorrow, you start again,” she said.

Despite the setback, the minister said she managed to return to her studies with renewed focus.

In 2023, she took a month’s leave to work only on her doctorate and travelled to South Africa to write and reflect.

She obtained her doctorate in education from Rhodes University in South Africa in 2025.

Steenkamp reminded the audience that academic excellence is not achieved in isolation.

“It comes from discipline and consistency,” she said, while acknowledging that both are difficult to maintain.

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