College of the Arts facing collapse

N$2m allegedly vanishes from students’ fund

Lecturers implicate Rector in current mess

Students fed up

Rector seeks to rectify

• By Terence Mukasa

NAMIBIA’S prestigious arts institution, the College of the Arts (COTA) is on the brink of collapse after having been besieged by a myriad of challenges that have degraded the once glorious school that was established five decades ago in 1971.

Confidente this week established that apart from the college suffering from lecturer challenges, extended financial burdens and declining enrolment, its courses have also been not accredited by the Namibia Qualifications Authority (NQA) for the past three years.

Insiders who spoke to Confidente this week also pointed to the institution’s rector, Angelika Schroeder as the central figure in the declining fortunes of the arts centre that has trained many of Namibia’s acclaimed artistes, broadcasters and writers.

College students who have invested faith in the institution after rampant enrolment decline, this week took to the streets to air their frustrations after having gone nearly four months without lecturers.

In the broader view of the challenges affecting the college is N$2 million that has vanished from the students’ fund.

 

Read the full story in this week’s edition.