The Namibia National Students Organisation has threatened to protest unless the government includes Grade 11 pupils in its subsidised tertiary education programme.
Nanso is demanding that the government include Grade 11 candidates in the programme by 27 January.
This comes after the Namibia Students Financial Assistance Fund (NSFAF) announced it would exclude Grade 11s from government-subsidised degree funding.
Minister of education, innovation, youth, sport, arts and culture Sanet Steenkamp recently announced that only 134 000 students stand to benefit from the programme in 2026,
This means only pupils with 26 points and an Advanced Subsidiary (Grade 12) qualification are eligible for the programme.
Nanso president Dorthea Nangolo says Grade 11 (Ordinary Level) remains a formally recognised exit point within Namibia’s education system.
“The students therefore demand that Grade 11 pupils must be included in the fully subsidised education framework.
“The students further demand that this inclusion be pronounced by the government no later than the 27 January, failing which, the students, pupils and trainees are ready to shut down Government Park until our demand has been met,” she said at a press conference in Windhoek on Wednesday.
Nangolo said several tertiary institutions have admitted students on the basis of their Grade 11 qualifications despite this exclusion.
“Access to education cannot be selectively extended on the basis of shifting administrative preferences while the structural design of the schooling system remains unchanged.
“That is a concerning indication of a lack of coherence across the education system,” she said.
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