As the Namibia National Students Organisation (Nanso) marks 41 years since its founding on 2 June 1984, former student activist and Cabinet minister Pohamba Shifeta on Monday said the spirit that birthed the movement must continue to evolve in service of national development.
Shifeta said Nanso was formed in direct resistance to the Bantu Education Act and as a unifying voice for students across race, tribe and background.
He said the movement not only challenged the regime but helped to radically reshape Namibia’s education and political consciousness.
“Nanso was formed to unite Namibian students and they became a formidable organisation that managed to challenge and shake the regime,” Shifeta said.
He reflected on the 1988 national student boycott that paralysed the apartheid education system and helped catalyse broader worker resistance. He further emphasised that while the political context has changed, the need for student activism remains urgent although in a different form.
Shifeta called on students to reorient their focus toward economic freedom, innovation, and job creation.
He further called for education that equips pupils to lead in a dynamic, post-independence Namibia.
“Education that is liberating the minds of our young people and ensuring that the students, when they come out of this system, are able to create jobs, not become jobseekers,” he said.
Addressing concerns about a disconnect between youth movements and national leadership, Shifeta encouraged students to organise meaningfully and engage in structured, solution-driven advocacy.
He highlighted that the state must remain open to listening and responding to student concerns.
He said student organisations like Nanso are not just for protest, but platforms for practical contribution to national development.
He urged today’s leaders to recognise their unique responsibility in a post-liberation era. While students of the 1980s fought for independence, those of today must fight for inclusion, transformation and economic justice.
Former Nanso president Paul Kalenga yesterday said the organisation’s role in amplifying student voices remains as critical today as it was during its founding years of political upheaval and protest.
Kalenga said that while times have changed, the power of student organising remains constant and vital.
He said in the past, burning buildings and marching in the streets were acts of resistance against an oppressive system.
Now, activism must take shape within democratic structures to push for reforms from within.
He further urged the youth to elect leaders with integrity and purpose.
“Leaders are those who articulate your visions, your interests, rather than leaders who just want to be leaders for the sake of prestige and famosity,” Kalenga said.
Current Nanso president Dorthea Nangolo says the movement has not only endured, it has evolved.
“Nanso consistently was able to evolve and align itself with what our times demand. The Nanso of 1984 needed to bring down the government. But today’s Nanso does not have to do that because it’s our government. We have the responsibility to hold it accountable but also build it,” Nangolo says.
She points out that the realisation of free tertiary education is proof that Nanso remains relevant and capable of delivering on its generational mandates.
She says now the struggle continues with a focus on the quality of education at basic and tertiary levels, and digital inclusion across Namibia.
Nangolo adds that students remain at the heart of the movement and their voices play a very critical role.
“The students must hold us accountable and demand better every single time.”
She says that consistent pressure and feedback from pupils, trainees, and students helps keep the organisation grounded in reality.
She adds that Nanso’s credibility is rooted in action and not rhetoric and it measures success by delivery, not declarations.
Nangolo says Nanso’s reassurance to the youth lies in presence, campuses, classrooms, and communities, and the organisation will reflect their struggles.
