Windhoek
Government is waiting for a full report regarding the situation of Namibian students at Loudima Institute for Technical and Vocational Training in Congo and the details regarding a shooting incident on Tuesday, before deciding on the way forward.
Namibian students at the institute stopped attending classes and are demanding that the government bring them back home, while Namibian instructors in that country said they would be back in home by now if it were not for the stranded learners.
Permanent secretary in the Ministry of Higher Education, Innovation and Training Dr Alfred van Kent pleaded for calm yesterday, saying: “Let us wait for those on the ground to brief us. Based on the information we receive we will take a decision.”
Students complained that they do not receive their monthly allowances, that water and electricity woes are regular occurrences, and lamented the alleged poor learning environment at the institute. They further claim they do not have any textbooks and that the library is poorly resourced.
During a telephonic interview with New Era yesterday, Van Kent acknowledged the electricity and water problems at the institute and indicated that resources have been availed to address the situation.
“The biggest challenge there is water and electricity, but we have made plans to deal with the situation. This includes the provision of a water system and connecting the institute to the electricity grid, instead of using generators – due to the high costs involved,” he said.
Classes have since been suspended, pending an amicable resolution to the situation, but the Namibians there are adamant that they want to return home.
Their decision was prompted by the allegedly dismal conditions they are subjected to at the institute, made worse on Tuesday by the fact that students had to run for cover when local police reportedly fired shots in their direction after the students attempted to petition the management.
“Teachers have stopped teaching and administrative staff have stopped working and students are not attending classes anymore… everyone just wants to go home, because we cannot live like this anymore,” said one of the Namibian officials yesterday.
There are slightly over 100 Namibian students and about 20 officials, comprising teaching and administrative staff at the institute. New Era understands that the institute’s management has since returned the students’ passports, after confiscating them last year.
“The students got their passports back and some parents have already bought tickets for their children to go back home. We are, however, concerned with those students whose parents cannot afford to pay the airfare for their children to return,” said the official.
Meanwhile, Namibia’s Ambassador to Congo, Vilho Nghifindaka, could not comment on Tuesday’s incident. He said he is still waiting for a full report as to what transpired.
Former President Hifikepunye Pohamba and his Congolese counterpart, Denis Sassou Nguesso, inaugurated the institute in 2014, following an agreement signed between Congo and Namibia in July 2007.