KEETMANSHOOP –University of Namibia (Unam) Vice Chancellor Kenneth Matengu said the tertiary institution has evolved over the years, responding to the needs of the country’s development agenda.
“With its inception during 1992, the primary aim was to help and support nation-building,” he said.
He was speaking at the university’s Keetmanshoop campus when it marked its 10th anniversary.
“During the second phase, the expectations now changed in so much that the institution of higher learning has been mandated to participate and contribute towards the economic growth of the country, while we are currently busy building on the country’s manufacturing and industrialisation capabilities,” he added.
In terms of higher education, he noted that it was a stock of skills, competencies and other productivity-enhancing characteristics exhibited, which students can use in their daily lives.
“The expectation that Unam should create employment is rather the mandate of the labour and trade and industrialisation ministries [sic], respectively,” he emphasised.
Turning attention to the students, he urged them to attend classes on time, and actively participate during discussions.
He reminded lecturers to always be well-prepared when teaching, and not merely recite prescribed training materials to their students.
In terms of the academic staff development policy of the university, he said positive strides have been reached in that regard.
“In 1992, there were only one or two Namibian academic staff members out of a total of 34 who were PhD graduates, but we now had more than 400 Namibians who obtained doctorates,” he boasted.
Matengu bemoaned the fact that for the last five years, out of a total of 9 079 applicants for admission, only 2 545 met the requirements needed at faculties at the Unam southern campus.
“Poor academic performances by learners during their basic education are the main contributing factor for this, and something needs to be done about it,” he said.
The academic expressed concern about learners’ academic performance in the science technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) subjects, which will, in turn, deny them future opportunities to enter study fields related to the upcoming green hydrogen, as well as oil and gas projects.
Sporting excellence
When speaking about the institutions’ outstanding performances in sport, Matengu highlighted Paralympic gold medallist Lahja Ishitile and the Unam female rugby club being crowned gold medallists during the recently-concluded Namibia Rugby Union League.
Their male counterparts took silver. The Rundu campus football club was promoted to the first division of the national league.
Information indicated that with Unam’s first opening in 1992, a total of 3 639 students were registered, and the student population stands at 28 639 in 2024.