Windhoek
The former minister of education, Dr David Namwandi, recently received a lifetime achievement award for meritorous service and his praiseworthy contributions to Namibian education.
A blissful Namwandi, who was conferred the award by the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants, was handed the award on July 23 in Mumbai, India. He said it belongs to all Namibians.
Namwandi first came to prominence when he founded the International University of Management (IUM) with only a handful of learners. The IUM has since grown to a regional university with several thousand students.
Namwandi and professionals from other countries featured among those shortlisted for the ‘Lifetime Achievement’ award. But Namwandi emerged victorious.
Among others, the judges looked at the fact that Namwandi started the IUM initially with one student and one lecturer. Today the IUM has over 8 000 students and campuses in various parts of the country.
His contribution to education in his capacity as deputy education minister and subsequently minister of education also did not go unnoticed.
“I’m humbled. This is not the first award I received. I received several awards (before) but this is something to be proud of. I don’t accept it as a personal award but the recognition is to all who ran with the vision [of starting IUM].
The credit should not come to me but to the nation at large,” Namwandi told New Era.
Furthermore, he said Vision 2030 can only be attained if the youth are empowered, education taken seriously and people emancipated from poverty.