Polytech gives students a break

POLYTECHNIC of Namibia students with Government loans and bursaries are relieved after management decided late last week not to penalise them for Government’s failure to settle their accounts in time for the year-end exams.

Tertiary institutions’ exams got into full swing yesterday. Government had announced earlier this year that it was experiencing a delay in paying out student loans, and asked institutions to bear with them and allow students to write exams.Both the University of Namibia (Unam) and the Polytechnic initially rejected this idea, stating that the amounts involved were simply too much to allow it to happen.Unam however last week relaxed its stance, and on Friday, the Polytechnic followed suit.Polytechnic Vice Rector Dr Gert Gunzel yesterday said that the institution had finally decided that all bursary holders would be allowed to sit for exams.Confirming this news yesterday was newly elected Polytechnic SRC president Paulus Hawanga.”We would like to, on behalf of the students, express our happiness with management.We are excited and we’re glad they have decided to go against those unreasonable demands,” he said.These prior demands were apparently that students were to make sure their individual accounts were settled before the exams started.In September, the Polytechnic had said that students still indebted to it by the time of examination would have to approach the office of the bursar on a case-to-case basis.Hawanga said yesterday that the SRC had been informed that anyone with a minimum balance of less than N$750 would be allowed to write exams, and that this decision made it possible for all students to make it through.In a letter sent to both the Polytechnic and Unam recently, the Ministry of Education promised to settle its outstanding bursary and loan account with the institutions before the end of the year.The ministry has until now failed to explain the reasons for the delay.Government had announced earlier this year that it was experiencing a delay in paying out student loans, and asked institutions to bear with them and allow students to write exams.Both the University of Namibia (Unam) and the Polytechnic initially rejected this idea, stating that the amounts involved were simply too much to allow it to happen.Unam however last week relaxed its stance, and on Friday, the Polytechnic followed suit.Polytechnic Vice Rector Dr Gert Gunzel yesterday said that the institution had finally decided that all bursary holders would be allowed to sit for exams.Confirming this news yesterday was newly elected Polytechnic SRC president Paulus Hawanga. “We would like to, on behalf of the students, express our happiness with management.We are excited and we’re glad they have decided to go against those unreasonable demands,” he said.These prior demands were apparently that students were to make sure their individual accounts were settled before the exams started.In September, the Polytechnic had said that students still indebted to it by the time of examination would have to approach the office of the bursar on a case-to-case basis.Hawanga said yesterday that the SRC had been informed that anyone with a minimum balance of less than N$750 would be allowed to write exams, and that this decision made it possible for all students to make it through. In a letter sent to both the Polytechnic and Unam recently, the Ministry of Education promised to settle its outstanding bursary and loan account with the institutions before the end of the year.The ministry has until now failed to explain the reasons for the delay.