WINDHOEK- Old mutual and Ned-Namibia Education Trust handed over bursary award certificates on Monday to 10 students worth over N$ 50 000 of which three among the 10 are undergraduates at the University and Polytechnic of Namibia, one post graduate and the rest are grade 12.
“Since its inception in 2009 a total number of 70 students have benefited through the trustee fund’s flexible bursaries including the recent beneficiaries of which students are not mandatory to work for the host organisations after the completion of their studies” said Patricia Olivier the Human resource Executive of Old mutual
Furthermore she said this initiation serves as the roadmap that will lead to the success of achieving vision 2030, which reflects on enhancing the country’s education.
“We at Old mutual are willing to help drive the delivery of vision 2030 by extending the learning opportunity into tertiary education through the Old Mutual Ned-Namibia Education Trust apart from the 1 million set invested in school for Educational Excellence Awards countrywide every year,” said Olivier.
However, the trust award bursaries can only be awarded to those that venture in fields such as Medicine, Engineering, Accounting and finance; Mathematical sciences, Information and communication technologies and they must be trade union members or dependents.
In a speech read by Cavin Nyambe the Director of Education on behalf of the Minister of Education Dr David Namwandi, he said Namibia can only attain and reach its dreams through the people and resources. “This is highly appreciated as it came at the right time when the ministry is pressed for more funding for education therefore private partnership is vital to complement government efforts,” said Namwandi
He reiterated that this year the Namibia Student Financial Assistance Fund (NSFAF) recorded an increase in the number of loans, bursary and scholarship applicants thus saying the educational needs are enormous and therefore requires a concerted effort and contribution from all stakeholders to invest in higher education.
By Obrein Simasiku