2016-11-24Staff Report 2 Windhoek Namibia’s Gross Tertiary Education Enrolment Ratio (GTEER) is high in the region and close to South Africa’s. Namibia’s GTEER of 18.3 percent in 2012, 19.1 percent in 2013 and 20.2 percent in 2014 is estimated to be one of the highest in the region, close to South Africa at 19.7 percent in 2013 and higher than Swaziland at 5.3 percent in 2013, Zimbabwe at 5.9 percent in 2013 and Mozambique at 6 percent during 2014. This information is contained in the 2014 Namibia Higher Education Statistical Yearbook released this year. The calculation of the ratio only covers enrolment data for students in higher education at National Qualifications Framework (NQA) levels 5 to 10. This means that it excludes students registered at vocational training centres (VTCs) and those registered with institutions outside the country. The report shows that the total enrolment in local higher education institutions in the 19-23 age group during 2012 is 41 246, while in 2013 about 43 761 students were enrolled compared to 46 963 enrolled during 2014. Namibia has 12 higher education institutions which include three public bodies, namely Namibian College of Open Learning (Namcol), the Namibian University of Science and Technology (NUST) and the University of Namibia (Unam). The other nine private institutions include Headstart Montessori Teachers Training College, the International University of Management (IUM), ILSA Independent College, Institute for Open Learning (IOL), International Training College Lingua, Monitronic Success College, Triumphant College, United Lutheran Theological Seminary-Paulinum and Namibia Evangelical Theological Seminary. The report shows that higher education institutions are dominated by public entities with 71 percent of the total enrolment compared to 29 percent for private institutions. About 50 percent of students enrolled in 2014 were below the age of 24, a group considered appropriate for higher education, while overall, female student numbers of 29 612 compared to 17 343 males dominated higher education for both public and private institutions during 2014. The report reveals that during the same period about 60.9 percent of students enrolled full-time, followed by 22.9 percent in distance learning while 15.6 percent registered part-time and 0.6 percent is not stated. Over 60 percent of students were enrolled in the fields of business, commerce and management studies as well as education, training and development with the majority being female. In contrast, males were relatively more in physical, mathematical and computer sciences and in the field of manufacturing, engineering and technology with the majority of them recorded as repeaters, than female students. Khomas Region recorded the highest percentage of students enrolled (15.8 percent), Oshana (7.9 percent), Omusati (5.9 percent) and Oshikoto (5.3 percent). Kavango West and East, Omaheke and Kunene recorded below 1 percent of enrolment in higher education institutions. The report shows most students with respect to financial sponsors fell under the self-funding and parent or guardian category, with a share of 48.8 percent. The Namibia Student Financial Assistance Fund (NSFAF) constituted the second major source of students’ funding with 21.9 percent, although 16 percent is recorded as missing data, as students failed to indicate their financial sponsors. Equally, it shows for every 100 students, about 91 were of Namibian origin, and the remainder was dominated by students from neighbouring countries, mainly Angola (2 percent), Zimbabwe (1.9 percent) and Zambia (1.7 percent). During 2014, a total of 4 801 students obtained a qualification and 10 870 students failed their examinations. It is also observed that only 37.2 percent progressed in their studies, while for public higher institutions, 14.2 percent obtained a qualification while 49.2 passed examinations. 2016-11-24Staff Report 2
