More than 120 Namibia University of Science and Technology medical laboratory science students facing deregistration yesterday petitioned education minister Sanet Steenkamp at Government Park for written answers about their academic futures.
The students want permission to complete their examinations, access to academic records and clarity on whether their credits will be recognised if they transfer to other institutions.
The Namibia University of Science and Technology (Nust) previously said its 2025 intake of 150 students exceeded available training capacity.
Second-year student Melrine Shikwambi says students were being deregistered and prevented from completing their remaining assessments.
“They were deregistering us yesterday, they are deregistering us today, they are telling us they are going to deregister us by the end of this week,” she says.
Shikwambi questions what would happen to the work students had already completed if they are deregistered from their second-year modules.
She also calls for assurances that students who transfer to universities abroad would have their credits recognised and qualify to sit for professional board examinations in Namibia upon returning.
“We want answers, ma’am, and we want them in paper, black and white,” she says.
Third-year student Intan Baadjes says the petition calls for individual written notices explaining Nust’s decisions, academic records, proof of study and extended application deadlines for students moving to other courses.
Baadjes says students should be allowed to complete their examinations so that the work they had done during the semester could count towards further studies.
She adds that 14 third-year students had been waiting three months for answers about when they could begin practical training after 50 students were selected for placements.
“They still have not given us answers. They still have not given us anything,” she says.
The petition also calls for welfare support and counselling.
Baadjes says the uncertainty was affecting students’ mental health and placing pressure on their families.
The Namibian previously reported that limited practical training placements had disrupted the academic progression of more than 120 students.
Nust spokesperson Cindy van Wyk previously said the university was exploring placements at universities within the Southern African Development Community region for 55 affected students.
She said 50 students had been selected for placements in line with available training capacity and that Nust would provide support to facilitate transfers for affected students.
Responding after receiving the petition, minister of education, innovation, youth, sport, arts and culture Steenkamp said she was awaiting a full report from Nust and appealed for patience.
“You will be consulted one-by-one,” she said.
She assured students that any alternative institution and programme would have to be accredited.
“We will never send our students to an institution that is not accredited,” she said.
Steenkamp said each student would receive clear communication about their academic future and the immediate way forward.
She added that compensation would need to be considered, including for students who had paid their own tuition.
“I’ve now received this, and we will treat it with the urgency that it requires,” she said.
The university had not responded to the questions at the time of going to print.
Speaking on behalf of concerned parents, Dinah Mbaeva, whose child faces deregistration, urges the institution to honour the admission requirements under which students enrolled in 2024 and 2025.
“We want our children to continue with their studies as per the guideline, rather than them now doing two courses per year,” Mbaeva says.
She says the revised criteria for 2026 should not apply retrospectively.
Mbaeva also calls on the education and health ministries to expand local laboratory training opportunities instead of sending students abroad, and urges Nust to allow students who have passed at least 75% of their annual modules to progress.
