Tutjavi urges student-centred NSFAF reforms in maiden speech
The Namibia Students Financial Assistance Fund (NSFAF) is undergoing a major transformation following a Cabinet decision in March to move the fund under the finance ministry as a government directorate.
This significant shift has prompted strong calls from Fenny Tutjavi – Namibia's youngest member of parliament – for the fund to become more efficient, student-focused and accountable in its operations.
“This shift must translate into a streamlined, transparent and student-centred funding mechanism,” Tutjavi said during a parliamentary session this week.
“Bureaucracy must not steal our students’ time or futures. Financial aid must be efficient, equitable and focused on removing the barriers that still haunt thousands of bright but disadvantaged students.”
The move marks a departure from earlier plans to reintegrate NSFAF into the higher education ministry, a process initiated in 2021.
Consultations at the time – led by the then higher education minister Itah Kandji-Murangi – included student leaders, government offices and institutional stakeholders.
Now, under the new model, NSFAF will operate as the NSFAF selection and advisory board, chaired by the executive director of the finance ministry.
Impact must match investment
The fund will no longer function as a state-owned enterprise but will instead be absorbed into a new directorate to improve oversight, ensure tighter financial controls and develop a centralised national student funding database.
Initially established in 1997, NSFAF has long been a critical pillar in providing financial assistance to tertiary students. However, it has faced growing criticism over inefficiencies, bureaucratic delays and low recovery rates on student loans.
The restructuring comes as Namibia celebrates its position as a global leader in education investment, ranked first worldwide in education spending relative to GDP and third in Africa for education quality, according to the Mo Ibrahim Foundation, Tutjavi said.
Despite a record N$24 billion allocation to the education sector in 2025, Tutjavi emphasised that impact must match the investment.
“Let us not confuse pass rates with progress,” she warned. “Our education must be the great equaliser, as our founding father Dr Sam Nujoma believed. Every dollar must result in something real – a teacher in a classroom, a chair for every student and a system that works for all, not just the privileged.”
This significant shift has prompted strong calls from Fenny Tutjavi – Namibia's youngest member of parliament – for the fund to become more efficient, student-focused and accountable in its operations.
“This shift must translate into a streamlined, transparent and student-centred funding mechanism,” Tutjavi said during a parliamentary session this week.
“Bureaucracy must not steal our students’ time or futures. Financial aid must be efficient, equitable and focused on removing the barriers that still haunt thousands of bright but disadvantaged students.”
The move marks a departure from earlier plans to reintegrate NSFAF into the higher education ministry, a process initiated in 2021.
Consultations at the time – led by the then higher education minister Itah Kandji-Murangi – included student leaders, government offices and institutional stakeholders.
Now, under the new model, NSFAF will operate as the NSFAF selection and advisory board, chaired by the executive director of the finance ministry.
Impact must match investment
The fund will no longer function as a state-owned enterprise but will instead be absorbed into a new directorate to improve oversight, ensure tighter financial controls and develop a centralised national student funding database.
Initially established in 1997, NSFAF has long been a critical pillar in providing financial assistance to tertiary students. However, it has faced growing criticism over inefficiencies, bureaucratic delays and low recovery rates on student loans.
The restructuring comes as Namibia celebrates its position as a global leader in education investment, ranked first worldwide in education spending relative to GDP and third in Africa for education quality, according to the Mo Ibrahim Foundation, Tutjavi said.
Despite a record N$24 billion allocation to the education sector in 2025, Tutjavi emphasised that impact must match the investment.
“Let us not confuse pass rates with progress,” she warned. “Our education must be the great equaliser, as our founding father Dr Sam Nujoma believed. Every dollar must result in something real – a teacher in a classroom, a chair for every student and a system that works for all, not just the privileged.”
Comments
Namibian Sun
No comments have been left on this article