{"id":30479,"date":"2022-09-30T08:32:00","date_gmt":"2022-09-30T08:32:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/calls-to-overhaul-nsfaf-funding-policy"},"modified":"2022-09-30T08:32:00","modified_gmt":"2022-09-30T08:32:00","slug":"calls-to-overhaul-nsfaf-funding-policy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/calls-to-overhaul-nsfaf-funding-policy","title":{"rendered":"Calls to overhaul NSFAF funding policy"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Namibia. <\/strong><\/span>PARLIAMENTARIANS and student lobby groups are calling for a complete overhaul of the Namibia Students Financial Assistance Fund (NSFAF) funding policy to cater for deserving Namibian students.<\/p>\n

PARLIAMENTARIANS and student lobby groups are calling for a complete overhaul of the Namibia Students Financial Assistance Fund (NSFAF) funding policy to cater for deserving Namibian students.<\/p>\n

Popular Democratic Movement (PDM) parliamentarian Inna Hengari says reviewing the fund’s policy would ensure all students, regardless of the institution of higher learning they are enrolled at, are treated equally and funded equitably.<\/p>\n

\u201cI understand members want this fund to be established by the Ministry of Finance, and in doing so they concede to the truth that the NSFAF is completely useless and incapable of managing, much less of reporting on a single cent,\u201dshe says.<\/p>\n

\u201cFrom the acting chief executive officer (CEO) to all those who have run down the institution, they have turned it into a cash cow with no sense of guilt, and no sense of responsibility whatsoever,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

Hengari says there is no need to establish new pockets for the NSFAF to manage, since they would be unable to.<\/p>\n

Swapo member of parliament Kletus Karondo says many university administrators and academic counsellors can confirm they come across young people on a regular basis who complain of not being able to afford to register or buy textbooks.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese students do not have the financial means to pay for decent accommodation, tuition fees or food on a regular basis.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am of the opinion that student financial assistance should be awarded to the neediest students on time, because without this financial help they may never have a chance to attend university or other institutions of higher learning,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

Namibia National Students Organisation (Nanso) spokesperson Dorethea Nangolo says they have been at the forefront of fighting for the NSFAF’s funding policy to be reviewed.<\/p>\n

\u201cNSFAF’s policy should be reviewed in a manner that responds to and accommodates all students. The issue is beyond registration fees.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe NSFAF has a funding criteria of certain priority courses. If underprivileged students are not studying any of the priority courses, they cannot fund you,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

Nangolo says prospective students have to pay N$2 500 to register if they have been issued a provisional letter, but this does not guarantee them a loan.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo many students come to us at the beginning of the year, crying that they might not study further because they cannot afford registration fees.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt’s disheartening. The NSFAF should review all its funding processes to accommodate the needy,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

She says the NSFAF should release its provisional acceptance list as soon as possible, before December, so that accepted students can avoid paying their registration fees in January.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, NSFAF acting CEO Kennedy Kandume has defended the fund’s policy, saying currently all beneficiaries are exempted from paying registration fees.<\/p>\n

He says it is not fair to say the NSFAF is not assisting underprivileged students, since this is the fund’s primary focus.<\/p>\n

\u201cContinuing students register without paying, and the new intakes who have not yet been funded by the NSFAF are strictly speaking not beneficiaries.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey are just students who have applied while we are assessing whether they qualify or not.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe then allow them to register, and the university reduces their registration fees to accommodate them,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

Kandume says if a Namibian child shows up at a university and the university asks for registration fees, it is not \u201can NSFAF problem\u201d.<\/p>\n

He says universities should also reconsider their registration fees.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe want to start the application as soon as possible and give provisional award letters before students register,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

Popular Democratic Movement (PDM) parliamentarian Inna Hengari says reviewing the fund’s policy would ensure all students, regardless of the institution of higher learning they are enrolled at, are treated equally and funded equitably.<\/p>\n

\u201cI understand members want this fund to be established by the Ministry of Finance, and in doing so they concede to the truth that the NSFAF is completely useless and incapable of managing, much less of reporting on a single cent,\u201dshe says.<\/p>\n

\u201cFrom the acting chief executive officer (CEO) to all those who have run down the institution, they have turned it into a cash cow with no sense of guilt, and no sense of responsibility whatsoever,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

Hengari says there is no need to establish new pockets for the NSFAF to manage, since they would be unable to.<\/p>\n

Swapo member of parliament Kletus Karondo says many university administrators and academic counsellors can confirm they come across young people on a regular basis who complain of not being able to afford to register or buy textbooks.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese students do not have the financial means to pay for decent accommodation, tuition fees or food on a regular basis.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am of the opinion that student financial assistance should be awarded to the neediest students on time, because without this financial help they may never have a chance to attend university or other institutions of higher learning,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

Namibia National Students Organisation (Nanso) spokesperson Dorethea Nangolo says they have been at the forefront of fighting for the NSFAF’s funding policy to be reviewed.<\/p>\n

\u201cNSFAF’s policy should be reviewed in a manner that responds to and accommodates all students. The issue is beyond registration fees.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe NSFAF has a funding criteria of certain priority courses. If underprivileged students are not studying any of the priority courses, they cannot fund you,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

Nangolo says prospective students have to pay N$2 500 to register if they have been issued a provisional letter, but this does not guarantee them a loan.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo many students come to us at the beginning of the year, crying that they might not study further because they cannot afford registration fees.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt’s disheartening. The NSFAF should review all its funding processes to accommodate the needy,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

She says the NSFAF should release its provisional acceptance list as soon as possible, before December, so that accepted students can avoid paying their registration fees in January.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, NSFAF acting CEO Kennedy Kandume has defended the fund’s policy, saying currently all beneficiaries are exempted from paying registration fees.<\/p>\n

He says it is not fair to say the NSFAF is not assisting underprivileged students, since this is the fund’s primary focus.<\/p>\n

\u201cContinuing students register without paying, and the new intakes who have not yet been funded by the NSFAF are strictly speaking not beneficiaries.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey are just students who have applied while we are assessing whether they qualify or not.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe then allow them to register, and the university reduces their registration fees to accommodate them,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

Kandume says if a Namibian child shows up at a university and the university asks for registration fees, it is not \u201can NSFAF problem\u201d.<\/p>\n

He says universities should also reconsider their registration fees.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe want to start the application as soon as possible and give provisional award letters before students register,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About Namibia<\/a> Follow Africa-Press<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Namibia. PARLIAMENTARIANS and student lobby groups are calling for a complete overhaul of the Namibia Students Financial Assistance Fund (NSFAF) funding policy to cater for deserving Namibian students. PARLIAMENTARIANS and student lobby groups are calling for a complete overhaul of the Namibia Students Financial Assistance Fund (NSFAF) funding policy to cater for deserving […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":30478,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,7,12],"tags":[234,236,233],"class_list":["post-30479","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-head-lines","category-policy","tag-africa-press","tag-africa-press-namibia","tag-namibia"],"yoast_head":"\nCalls to overhaul NSFAF funding policy - Namibia<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/calls-to-overhaul-nsfaf-funding-policy\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Calls to overhaul NSFAF funding policy\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Africa-Press – Namibia. PARLIAMENTARIANS and student lobby groups are calling for a complete overhaul of the Namibia Students Financial Assistance Fund (NSFAF) funding policy to cater for deserving Namibian students. 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