NSFAF to become a finance ministry directorate
The Namibia Students Financial Assistance Fund (NSFAF) will be integrated into the ministry of finance, following a Cabinet decision to change the fund’s status from a state-owned enterprise to a government directorate.
Providing an update on the fund’s re-integration into the government, higher education minister Dr Itah Kandji-Murangi said that, after extensive consultations, it had now been decided that the fund would be housed under the Ministry of Finance.
In 2021, a Cabinet decision was issued to reintegrate NSFAF into the higher education ministry. Consultative meetings to pave the way for the reintegration process were held with the ministry of finance, the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM), tertiary institutions' student leaders, student associations' leadership, and other stakeholders.
“A new department will also be created under the ministry of finance, which will divest NSFAF of its juristic personality. The rationale for placing it as a department in the ministry was to ring-fence the fund, closely monitor its affairs, and develop a readily accessible database of tertiary education students,” the minister said.
The integration will help drive the seamless funding of beneficiaries, Kandji-Murangi noted.
“NSFAF will be renamed the NSFAF Selection and Advisory Board, which will be chaired by the ministry’s executive director, and its functions will be aligned accordingly. The integration will also create an efficient one-stop shop for national human capital education, training, and financing,” Kandji-Murangi said.
During a media briefing in December 2017, Kandji-Murangi announced that the fund would be reintegrated into her ministry following a suggestion by the late President Hage Geingob to Cabinet.
NSFAF was established in January 1997 to provide financial assistance to students at approved institutions of higher education.
Over the years, the institution has struggled to recover money disbursed in student loans.
Providing an update on the fund’s re-integration into the government, higher education minister Dr Itah Kandji-Murangi said that, after extensive consultations, it had now been decided that the fund would be housed under the Ministry of Finance.
In 2021, a Cabinet decision was issued to reintegrate NSFAF into the higher education ministry. Consultative meetings to pave the way for the reintegration process were held with the ministry of finance, the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM), tertiary institutions' student leaders, student associations' leadership, and other stakeholders.
“A new department will also be created under the ministry of finance, which will divest NSFAF of its juristic personality. The rationale for placing it as a department in the ministry was to ring-fence the fund, closely monitor its affairs, and develop a readily accessible database of tertiary education students,” the minister said.
The integration will help drive the seamless funding of beneficiaries, Kandji-Murangi noted.
“NSFAF will be renamed the NSFAF Selection and Advisory Board, which will be chaired by the ministry’s executive director, and its functions will be aligned accordingly. The integration will also create an efficient one-stop shop for national human capital education, training, and financing,” Kandji-Murangi said.
During a media briefing in December 2017, Kandji-Murangi announced that the fund would be reintegrated into her ministry following a suggestion by the late President Hage Geingob to Cabinet.
NSFAF was established in January 1997 to provide financial assistance to students at approved institutions of higher education.
Over the years, the institution has struggled to recover money disbursed in student loans.
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