According to the new president of Namibia, university fees will no longer be charged starting in 2026.
The nation’s first female president, President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah, made the announcement Thursday night at her inaugural State of the Nation address. Speaking to parliamentarians, Nandi-Ndaitwah said that all public institutions and technical colleges will charge “no registration [or] tuition fees” to students.
Her statement that there would not be “significant” more cash, however, raised concerns about the viability of the plan.
Nandi-Ndaitwah stated that the sole “contribution as families and students for now will be towards accommodation and other related costs” and that free university education will be implemented gradually.
“We have heard your cries: ‘the Fees have Fallen,'” she remarked, alluding to earlier requests made by Namibian and South African university students.
According to her, the funds would come from the student financial help fund and subsidies already provided to a few public universities in the nation.
She stated, “If we are going to add, we will not add a significant [amount of funds].” All public schools in the nation currently offer free elementary and secondary education.
Some student organizations applauded Nandi-Ndaitwah’s announcement, but others criticized it for being ambiguous and impractical.
The Affirmative Repositioning Student Command (ARSC) is one of these, claiming it was only a publicity stunt by the Namibian government.
The organization told the BBC, “There is no plan, it is just a confused announcement which raises [the] question of what [Nandi-Ndaitwah] means by tertiary education.”
The ARSC elaborated by asking where the funds would come from and whether only undergraduates or post-graduate students would benefit.
Tannen Groenewald, an economist who spoke to the local news outlet the Windhoek Observer, mirrored these views. He proposed capping the number of students if fees were eliminated without additional financing.
It might eventually just apply to students from low-income families, he added. South Africa, a neighbor, experienced this.
In 2017, during the so-called #FeesMustFall protests, the government acceded to calls for the elimination of tertiary education tuition, although just a few students stood to gain.
Since then, people who are deemed too wealthy to be eligible for financial aid but still find it difficult to pay for tuition have criticized it for being overly restrictive. This group is known as the “missing middle.”
Source: BBC News