SWAKOPMUND – There has been a significant increase in the demand for tertiary education since independence, with a notable year-on-year growth in the number of qualifications awarded to Namibians, the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Education, Alfred Ilukena revealed at the Namibia Qualifications Authority (NQA) conference currently underway in Swakopmund.
According to Ilukena this is regarded as a step in the right direction and can be seen as a return on the huge investment made by the government in education. “But the next logical step should be to ensure that there is a link between the quantitatives and qualitatives of these qualifications.” Attending the conference are various officials from the education fraternity, as well as specialists from Mauritius and South Africa. Ilukena explained that the number of qualifications should have a direct correlation with the quantity of the qualifications awarded. “There should also be a link between the number of qualifications attained and the skills-base of the nation. It will serve no purpose if we have thousands of nationals with qualifications that are of no relevance to our national development goals or that are of a poor quality.”
He further noted that the lack of quality education and training for the majority of Namibians has been used in many instances to justify the low wages in the road construction, mining and cleaning services sectors. “Therefore the NQA should build a quality framework that will eliminate all obstacles in this regard. Our march is towards becoming a developed and competitive nation with highly skilled and educated Namibians, which is both exhilarating and challenging. Therefore we must deliver economically valuable skills, through a demand-led and competency approach, facilitated by a new culture of learning and an appetite for improved skills among individuals and employers,” Ilukena said. The NQA is a statutory body established by the Namibia Qualifications Authority Act No 29 of 1996. The Act requires the NQA to set-up and administer a national qualifications framework.
By Eveline de Klerk