KEETMANSHOOP – Namibia Students Financial Assistance Fund (NSFAF) company secretary Fillemon Immanuel has announced that NSFAF, under the directive of the Office of the Prime Minister, is actively reviewing its funding policy to enhance inclusivity and equity.
Immanuel made these statements during the high-level tertiary education funding budget review dinner held in the capital on Thursday. The event was held under the theme ‘Funding Modalities in the Age of AI, Emerging Sectors, 4IR and 5IR.’
“We are looking at our funding policy with the intention of catering for those students who may be falling between the cracks. But I must say that even if we review this policy, there will be a threshold against which the students will be measured to ensure quality and a return on investment,” he noted.
Immanuel urged business leaders and employers to encourage former NSFAF beneficiaries to contribute to the fund’s financial sustainability by repaying their loans.
“We want to be able to complement what is allocated to us by government, and the one way to do so is through our recovery programme,” he said.
NSFAF prioritises funding for studies in information technology, computer science, food technology, water engineering and telecommunications, which are closely linked to artificial intelligence, and which will enable the attainment of an industrialised Namibia.
Minister of Higher Education, Training and Innovation, Itah Kandjii-Murangi, emphasised Namibia’s commitment to leveraging technology for future needs through the TVET, Higher Education, and Innovation Policy Review.
“The interaction of cyber-physical systems in industry 4.0 brings about smart manufacturing in which humans and machines reconcile, and find a way to work together to improve the means and efficiency of production. These innovative technologies have the potential to revolutionise the energy sector by increasing productivity, enhancing safety and cutting carbon dioxide emissions,” she stated.
Kandjii-Murangi added that it is imperative that universities and other institutions of higher learning brace themselves to revolutionise their teaching approaches through the adoption of new technologies to produce the relevant skills for the oil and gas, as well as green energy, value chains. -Nampa