Written by Patience Nyangove
Thursday, 17 December 2009
THE bad blood between the Polytechnic of Namibia and the Ministry of Education has left 73 students with a bleak future after government denied them funding.
The affected students are studying bachelor degrees in Applied English (30), communication (30) and entrepreneurship (13) which are not recognised by Government.
Permanent Secretary in the Ministry, Vitalis Ankama, accused the Polytechnic administration of “grabbing” courses and introducing them without making consultations.
“The Polytechnic came into being after an act of Parliament and it should cover certain programmes and they (Polytechnic administration) should not do what they want. It’s the University of Namibia which should offer those programmes not them and what the Polytechnic seems to have done is to grab any courses they want.
“We can’t have an institution grabbing anything it wants, they should have a terrain they abide by,” Ankama said.
He also accused the Polytechnic administration of misleading the nation that the institution was now a university when its request to have its status upgraded with the National Council on Higher Education is still pending.
“They went on to publish that they are now a university when the Ministry had referred their request to the National Council on Higher Education which is still carrying out consultations,” Ankama said.
The PS said because of the fallout between the Polytechnic administration and the Ministry, the students are suffering.
“Unfortunately, clearly the students are the victims. They won’t get any financial support because Government doesn’t recognise those courses they are studying.”
The Polytechnic Rector, Tjama Tjivikua, said they do not understand why Government was denying to fund the students when the same courses were being funded elsewhere.
“To our understanding, these are the only programmes which were refused bursaries while being funded elsewhere and we do not understand why except for misinterpretations of our intentions and goals. We still believe there is a great need for qualified practitioners of English and Communication and Entrepreneurship.
“In fact Entrepreneurship is funded as a course in high school (senior secondary) and it baffles one why it isn’t funded at university level. Aren’t we all talking about creating a successful economy with qualified entrepreneurs?” Tjivikua questioned.
He said it was unfair for Ankama to blame the Polytechnic for introducing new programmes without the Ministry’s blessings because in the annual development plans of institutions - strategic or operational - there is no policy or standardised procedure for consultation or approval of new programmes between the institutions and the Ministry.
“This is not the fault of the Polytechnic. Since 1996, we have addressed national development needs without necessarily obtaining the approval of the Ministry of Education as per set procedures. Yet, there has never been a complaint before and all programmes have been funded, however without a scientific formula justifying the subsidy or lump sum allocations or bursaries,” Tjivikua hit back at Ankama.
National Youth Council secretary general, Mandela Kapere said the Polytechnic of Namibia is a reputable and well ran institution and he is surprised to hear that it offers courses that are not recognised by the education ministry.
“I know the Polytechnic is a well run, reputable institution and I am very surprised to hear that it offers courses that are not recognised. It’s high time stakeholders in the education system talk directly so that students don’t end up victims here.
“I have also heard institutions complaining that Government is not paying in time the grants, there is a problem somewhere and stakeholders need to sit down and sort these problems.”
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