Aletta Shikololo
While commending the continued interest in education, University of Namibia Chancellor Nangolo Mbumba bemoaned the low output in engineering, saying it is of great concern and needs urgent attention.
“This is particularly true in the context of the new Namibia, driven by Vision 2030 – a time and place where Namibians will be industrial and not merely consumers of goods,” he said during the virtual graduation ceremony last week.
Of the 4 839 Unam students who graduated last week, 2 020 are from the faculty of education, while only 29 emanate from the Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology.
This year’s graduation also saw 16 graduates with PhDs in areas of critical importance to national development, while 44 students have graduated as medical doctors.
Despite upheavals and challenges brought on by the Covid-19 pandemic, the number of graduates relatively increased with 387, compared to the class of 2019.
The university also recorded a 42% increase in Scopus indexed publications for 2020, which are 295 publications, compared to 208 in 2019.
According to the institution’s vice chancellor, Professor Kenneth Matengu, this is the highest number of such Scopus indexed publications for any given year.
Scopus is a bibliographic database containing abstracts and citations for academic journal articles.
Speaking at the same event, higher education minister Itah Kandjii-Murangi highlighted the significance of some of the doctoral students who have graduated this year, saying one of the doctorates is in the area of fisheries and aquatic sciences. “Fish remains a key food resource for Namibians; it is, therefore, important that we increase our knowledge around the management and sustainable use of this important natural resource,” she said. – ashikololo@nepc.com.na