Salomo Ndeyamunye yaNdeshimona
Fīat iūstitia ruat cælumm – Let justice be done though the heavens fall. These words from the Latin language were powerfully invoked by Lord Mansfield in 1772 as he freed the slaves whose fate was at issue in Summerset’s case.
Nearly two centuries later, these same words were deliberately selected to serve as the motto of the University of British Columbia Faculty of Law. Today they grace the main entrance of the law building. Many law students have borrowed this phrase as they argue for the freedom of their clients, whose fate is at the hand of justice.
Namibia, having borrowed democracy as its centre stone of our freedom, these words should have become synonymous with us all, but it is not the case for many, as the gap between the haves, and have not has become a determining factor of justice.
Thus, despite borrowing democracy, this phrase seems to mean nothing, to our jurisprudence, when we deal with social issues affecting us all. When these words were mentioned by Lord Mansfield in 1772, the social issue at hand was slavery, as for us today is educational poverty and underdevelopment among others, which is the crux of this opinion piece. Of course, this is not Summerset, but Namibia we are talking about, but I beg you might want to read on.
As a scholar, educator, and social activist I have taken note of many struggling students who are unable to make ends meet, let alone finance their studies and maintain a life in our beloved land of the brave.
Only a few students in Namibia can proudly say their parents and relatives can afford to fund their studies, without needing a helping hand from the sole NSFAF.
We have very few organisations that offer student loans, and as we all know their interests are so enormous that they leave many students indebted for life, thereby creating a difficult lifestyle for them after having completed their studies.
Worse of all, not all students finish their studies and get employed right away, as some continue to languish on our streets job hunting. Surely, our lawmakers have told us for ages to create our employment but tell that to someone who already struggled to fund a study using a loan.
Will such a person afford to take another loan to fund a business idea? We of course also have organizations, and embassies that offer bursaries and grants, but a few. I have noticed that grants, bursaries and even loans, especially from NASFAF are mostly offered to young scholars, mainly between the ages of 18-35 years. Some bursaries and grants even have prescriptions, and conditions specified. You will find a scholarship having different requirements, such as one must undergo an HIV/AIDs test, Covid, as of late, should not be married and so on.
I am writing to vent the frustration of senior scholars, scholars that are doing qualifications such as Masters and PhD. Some might have been first-time lucky to have funding through loans, or grants, while some funded their studies themselves, and so on.
No academic costs are easier on anyone, which is why in some countries education is made free, and so is varsity. Imagine a father, or mother doing a PhD or Masters, they have a family to feed, and many other responsibilities, yet most studies will ask for a deposit or full payment. This forces many of us to acquire loans we cannot repay, but in the interest of career growth, we are left with no options.
Many scholarships have requirements that to me are discriminative against some gender, and age. Imagine a scholarship that states that for a female, anyone between ages 18-45 years can apply, whilst for a male, only between ages 18-35 years.
When did males and females become different, and unequal to this level, despite that our constitution classifies us as equal in Namibia and elsewhere? What valid reason is to keep an age limit on further studies for some, whilst one is expected to be relevant to their career through further studies?
Perhaps some age groups are deemed un-educable, so why do we have a country’s varsity that offers mature age entry to do studies with them? Some people only get a chance to study at an advanced age, yet they are ambitious to study further.
I do not think with our middle literacy level country, we can afford to cap further studies using age as a limiting factor, let alone through discrimination of gender.
The percentage of people with PhD and Masters in Namibia is approximately less than 1% of our population, considering that the world only has about 4% of PhD holder population and about 20% number of tertiary graduates ranging from certificates to degrees. We have prisons that are filled to rafters with the male gender, yet we are taking ages to realise that some of our laws and practices are driving men into abject poverty, and obscurity of life.
I therefore wish to submit to our lawmakers to reconsider this approach or perhaps they are not aware of it, as they are sorted in life. Our scholarships, grants, and study loans should be inclusive and considerate. It is time that study loans are given priority to have lower interest, as they stimulate the growth and transformation of the country. We need all genders to achieve all national visions and continental agendas, and we cannot achieve that by discriminating against some, yet favouring others.
I mean how many scholarships or grants have you seen that are pro-male, how many programmes have you seen that are exclusively meant for Adam’s gender, how many? The world and development are not changed by a single gender or age group, but by a collective of concocted efforts by all, at all levels, not elites or haves.
I am sure, some feminine would jump on this wagon, and try to refute, this, but until then “let justice be done, although the heaven may fall”. I am no misogynist, but I feel we as the world have done enough to uplift the female gender, and it is time that we level the playing fields before we create a catastrophe and extinction of men from the earth.
*Salomo Ndeyamunye yaNdeshimona is an educator and activist from Onankali South, Oshikoto region. The views expressed in this piece are his and do not represent his employer. He can be reached at ndeshimonasn@hotmail.com.