Rudolf Gaiseb

Namibia National Students’ Organisation (Nanso) president, Dorthea Nangolo, says the organisation will continue fighting for the rights of students in all areas of study.

She said Nanso will not rest as long as there are students being denied education, struggling to access resources, or battling systemic exclusion.

Nangolo made these remarks during a Nanso General Students Council convention held in Windhoek on Saturday. The convention discussed pressing educational matters, set organisational priorities, and established the organisation’s strategic direction for the year. “We stand on the shoulders of the giants who came before us —those who fought against the brutal apartheid system, those who led the student boycotts, those who organised in the face of brutal repression. Today, our struggle may take a different form, but it is no less urgent.  “We fight against the commodification of education, against the exclusion of the poor, against policies that fail to prioritise students,” she said.

She told the convention, which brought together student leaders from various tertiary institutions in the country, that Nanso’s ideological foundation remain rooted in the principles of revolutionary discipline, unwavering solidarity, and radical purpose. “We must reject complacency, resist co-optation, and fight tirelessly for the future we deserve,” she said. The student body’s most recent and pressing aspirations has been the realisation of an education levy – a funding mechanism that will ensure that no student is financially excluded from accessing education. 

She encouraged her cohorts to collaborate in fighting for the levy. 

“We have witnessed too many students forced out of institutions due to financial hardships, too many pupils unable to continue their schooling due to systemic inequalities. The time has come for us to demand concrete solutions. We must make it clear that education is not a privilege, it is a right,” Nangolo said.

Swapo member Elijah Ngurare encouraged the Namibian youth groups, the National Youth Council, National Youth Service, and Swapo Youth League, among others, to bury the hatchet and work together to achieve their common denominator.

“I am mindful that today, Nanso is apolitical. I respect that freedom. However, I encourage you to hold hands as a generation and to define your common denominator. You do not need to be apolitical on the demands for quality education and on the demands for joining the second liberation struggle of economic independence,” he added.

–rrgaiseb@gmail.com