By Lynette Kozosi WINDHOEK While the University of Namibia has been criticized for allegedly producing graduates of low calibre, some officials from the institution have cited overcrowding in classes as the reason. Despite the institution producing hundreds of graduates in different fields every year, the job market has expressed dissatisfaction with the quality of services rendered by the institution’s “products”. In an interview with New Era last week, an official at the institution who spoke on condition of anonymity admitted that the huge numbers of students per class had compromised the standards of teaching. He said the number of students per lecturer could amount to 600 in a year. This limited the attention that a lecturer gave to individual students or those who were slow in grasping concepts. The huge numbers of students per class had resulted in other problems, such as limited lecture hall space. The lecture buildings that usually accommodate between 150 and 200 students were now accommodating between 300 and 400 students. Lecturers found themselves overworked and always under pressure. The official said pressure on lecturers was not only during the teaching period, but the situation worsened during the marking of examination papers. Most lecturers have opted for multiple-choice questions during examinations to speed up the marking process. Other challenges at the university include limited venues for conducting lessons and resources for lecturers and students alike. “Unam cannot afford to employ more lecturers but it is admitting more and more students each year. The quality of education at the University of Namibia is very low,” said the official. “In the absence of modern equipment like overhead projectors, we are using the ‘old style’ of teaching, the blackboard.” He said the commitment and class attendance of some lecturers was also one of the major concerns. “Some lecturers do not turn up to teach and this has often resulted in situations where modules are not covered fully in one semester. This again results in lecturers running through the module at the last minute.” According to the Public Relations Officer of the University of Namibia, Utaara Hoveka, the student-lecturer ratio for faculties such as Economics and Management Science and some departments in the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences was over the norm. “As the only (national) university in the country, at times we are compelled by public demand to go out of our way by stretching the limit.” The University of Namibia was hopeful that with increased funding from development partners and the government, it could increase the number of academic staff for those faculties where student-lecturer ratio was high. In the absence of more funding, the University of Namibia would have to look at decreasing the student intake to allow lecturers to cope with their work. The University of Namibia rarely turns away those who do not meet the requirements for university entry.