Education should not be commercialised- Amushelelo

• BY JO-MARIE ORTNER

POLITICAL activist and member of the Namibia Economic Freedom Fighter (NEFF), Michael Amushelelo says higher education has become commercialised making it hard for students from poor family background to attain tutelage.

Amushelelo said education is not supposed to be a business but a means to empower future generations.

“Education should be a levelled playing field for the rich and the poor. It is not supposed to be a business because if the poor cannot afford to go to school, the cycle of poverty in their families continues while our Ministers are getting Substance and Travel (S&T) of over N$ 3 million a year. At the same time, Mining and Fishing companies are generating a lot of money that can be used to contribute towards paying for education,” he said.

For the 2023 academic year, registration fees are currently standing at N$12,000 at Welwitschia Health Training Centre, N$4,200 at the Namibia University of Science and Technology, N$5,600 for University of Namibia.

Amushelelo said students are missing out on opportunities because they cannot afford to go to school, hence he called for nation-wide protest against registration fees to be staged at University campuses.

“The Namibian government has a legal obligation to ensure that every Namibian child who has a desire and qualifies to be educated receives quality education and if children are denied education because of registration fees then where does this leave our future,” he said.

Registration fees have become mandatory payments made to educational institutions before a student can start their school career, however some student’s parents have low-income jobs and affording for these fees is beyond impossible.

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