Iuze Mukube
“A good teacher is like a candle – it consumes itself to light the way for others. Go, therefore, and light the ways for your learners and your communities.”
These were words of the founder of Sunshine Private College Mrs Nomakando Kangira during the fourth graduation ceremony for the college’s postgraduate diploma in education graduates at the St. Mary's Catholic Cathedral Church Hall.
Seventy-nine students graduated under the theme ‘Creating and applying knowledge: Engaging our communities!’.
The atmosphere was thick with pride and accomplishment, commemorating another successful academic year and a surge in the number of graduates.
Guest of honour and international relations minister Dr Peya Mushelenga commenced the ceremony with immense gratitude to Sunshine College for positively influencing education in Namibia.
“Sunshine Private College is playing a significant role in landscaping higher education in Namibia, churning out trained secondary school teachers every year to pursue the conundrum Africa is experiencing in untrained and underqualified teachers,” he said.
Mushelenga further stated that this is why the college is to be appreciated for the wisdom and vision of its founders and managers for developing teacher education programmes. He also congratulated the students on graduating.
Co-founder Jairos Kangira advised the graduates to be change-makers in the community they engage with while applying the knowledge they acquired.
On her part, Nomakando, who is also the director of Sunshine Private College, stated that as the college steadily transforms, ultimately becoming Sunshine Applied University of Education, it subscribes to the tenets of academic freedom in higher education, which is the freedom to teach and learn, freedom to conduct research, freedom to engage the community, and freedom of expression in the pursuit of truth.
The graduation ceremony will also be remembered as a testament to the college’s unwavering dedication to student success and its ongoing mission to empower Namibian education while shaping the future of educators.
The atmosphere gathered steam with electric excitement when some graduates were recognised for their achievements and hard work.
Jeremia Shikongo Weyulu and Julia Ndilimeke Nekundi were awarded the overall best student in performance, while Secilia Megameno Nafenya was recognised as the best overall student in research.
The runners-up were Erastus Helao Ndawedapo and Sarah Tonata Shoyekushishi Sheya.
Students Representative Council president Jeremia Shikongo Weyulu was bestowed with a leadership award with his vice president Mummy Jeanny Vatilifa.
Weyulu stated: “Those who aspire to join our esteemed college, you are welcome to be part of us, but let it be known that at Sunshine, we mean business. Our commitment to excellence is solid, and our standards are set high. Those who are looking for silver plate qualifications will not exist at this college; it’s either you change, or the change will change”.
The graduates marked their culmination of college experience by tossing their caps – a symbolic gesture at graduations – into the air amid cheers and applause from families and friends in attendance.
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