Ngaevarue Katjangua
Windhoek
As part of its mandate to take education to the people, the Namibia College of Open Learning (Namcol), which serves tens of thousands of out-of-school learners, will introduce its first degree course from next year.
Namcol will offer the Bachelor of Arts in Youth Development Work (BAYD) to provide training in specific competencies required for effective youth development work and will enable beginners, as well as experienced practitioners, to develop and/or refine their skills in youth work.
It further aims to equip students for effective youth development work at management level.
This programme is designed to introduce the discipline of youth development to highly interested individuals to develop their competencies within the vast youth development field.
The degree ought to develop in effective and reflective youth development practitioners the ability to apply theory to practice when working with youth, and equip students with knowledge, attitudes and skills to prepare them for work at management level.
As noted in the media release by Namcol, the course is targeted at practitioners or professionals working with youth including civil servants, community development practitioners and youth workers, as well as interested individuals seeking competency at degree level in youth development work.
The admission requirements are a Grade 12 with 25 points in five subjects, plus a D symbol in English as well as anyone who has obtained the Diploma in Youth Development Work (DYD) at Namcol or any other equivalent qualification.
Along with the introduced degree, Namcol is introducing a Certificate in Business and Entrepreneurship (CBE), which is geared for individuals who are currently entrepreneurs without a formal qualification and aims to provide entrepreneurial skills to school learners as well who are seeking academic qualifications for employment, and mid-career professionals who wish to change their current career status and become entrepreneurs.
The basic admission requirements to this course are a Grade 12 Certificate or equivalent with a minimum of 22 points on the Ministry of Education’s point scale plus an E symbol in English.
Applications for Namcol’s tertiary level programmes open on June 1 until July 31, 2017 and application forms can be obtained at any Namcol office country-wide or can be downloaded from the website: www.namcol.edu.na