Africa-Press – Namibia. THE Namibia Student Financial Assistance Fund (NSFAF) says it has placed an order to purchase student laptops worth N$59 million and not N$180 million as previously reported by an online news outlet last Friday.
The article by Namibian Daily News asserts that “the Government with the Ministry of Higher Education made a deal with NSFAF to provide students with laptops to the value of N$180 million to help them with online learning whereby the GRN would meet students halfaway”.
It also alleges that “An amount of N$ 3000.00 has been deducted from students’ non tuition fees as a contribution but up to date no laptops have been provided”.
However, the student fund body in a press release on Tuesday said that while the statement above is not entirely incorrect, it lacks facts and thus should be given a correct and clear perspective for proper and ambiguous public disclosure.
The institution clarified that it has in fact placed an order for 10 500 Lenovo and HP laptops for N$59 million. The laptops’ production turnaround and delivery time posed some challenges given the effect of Covid-19 on the global supply chain, hence experienced delivery delay, reads the statement.
NSFAF acting chief executive officer Kennedy Kandume said they are happy to inform the nation that the first consignment of Lenovo laptops arrived in Windhoek last weekend and the application and distribution process is in due course.
The laptop unit costs N$6000 and indeed the government will subsidise the laptop cost by 50%, he said. He said the assertion that an amount of N$3000 had been deducted from students’ non tuition fees “is factually incorrect”.
“Students are therefore given two options to finance the remaining 50% loan from Nasfaf,” said Kandume. The loan is repayable as per NSFAF’s Financial Assistance and Debt Recovery Policy or cash payment.
Kandume said there was no mandatory deduction with a purpose of reducing students’ non tuition fees as insinuated, but rather individuals’ voluntary gesture to use a portion of their non-tuition fees for cash purchase.
