By Albertina Nakale
WINDHOEK – The Namibia Qualifications Authority (NQA) has cautioned new high school graduates to avoid spending money on colleges whose qualifications are not recognised in the Namibian market.
The NQA says people must not to be misled by institutions that spend thousands of dollars advertising on radio and in full page newspaper adverts offering qualifications that are not recognised in the country and are “not worth the paper they are printed on”.
NQA’s manager for marketing and communication, Catherine Shipushu, this week said the NQA is willing to provide all the required assistance to students before they register at any institution.
The Ministry of Education is due to release the results for Grade 12 Ordinary Level for full-time and part-time candidates on Thursday.
“As the saying goes, prevention is better than cure. For foreign institutions, it’s a matter of filling in an enquiry form with the name of the institution and the specific programme or qualification you are interested in pursuing. The NQA will do the research on your behalf and provide you with written feedback in seven working days. However, if students still choose to enrol at institutions that are not accredited there is little assistance the NQA can give them,” said Shipushu.
Many high school graduates have over the years fallen victim to questionable colleges that have set up shop in Namibia in the guise of offering high standard courses on behalf of reputable and established universities while not fully recognised and accredited with the NQA.
The NQA has made available a list of all accredited Namibian institutions on its website. The institution assures that it will not punish or arrest any person who approaches its offices for help.
“We are in the service of the nation. We are not here to punish or arrest people. In fact, we want the public to feel free to approach us and enquire about information needed on educational institutions they are interested in before taking steps to register,” said Shipushu.
The Directorate of National Examinations confirmed that a total of 44 932 candidates comprising of 19 392 full-time and 25 540 part-time candidates were registered for the 2014 Grade 12 Ordinary Level examination at 176 schools and 125 part-time tuition centres.