With many young people facing hardships, NSFAF brings much-needed relief to disadvantaged Namibians, by giving them the chance to better their lives through access to education. “Human capital is our greatest national resource; therefore, it is in the nation’s interest to support the individual students’ interest to harness their potential and ultimately shape their destiny,” emphasised Dr Erold Naomab, the NUST Vice-Chancellor.
The three-year agreement obligates NSFAF to commitments, such as paying the University within a reasonable amount of time, and in turn, NUST shall allow beneficiaries to attend all lectures, tutoring and other related educational programmes.
Acting Chief Executive Officer of NSFAF, Kennedy Kandume, said that the fund would ensure a 100% tuition payment to all NSFAF registered students, once they have received their budget from treasury.
“It is a commitment from us to pay students’ tuition fees in full at an appropriate time while ensuring that students are not disadvantaged for owing the university,” he said.
Dr Naomab used the platform to address matters relating to student debt. “I would like for us all, as partners in education, to explore ways of ensuring our students start off on the right foot after they graduate. We need to mitigate the burden of debt on students, so that we do not transfer these challenges onto future generations. In the same vein, we need to educate them about the value of repaying debts because this too will have adverse effects on future generations, who also need to benefit from these very same coffers,” he emphasised.