• Education

Get learning with Namtutors

Tunohole Mungoba

Maureen Sibongile Mkhulisi is a 21-year-old fourth-year Unam accounting student who decided that enough was enough, after struggling in class without receiving sufficient assistance.

“After struggling to receive help and tutoring with management accounting, I thought to myself: how can I make it better for other students like me?”

Mkhulisi and Mberiuka Mauha have embarked on a journey together.

“I am the co-founder of Namtutors and also a Her Voice Fund ambassador for Namibia, which is global fund initiative targeting adolescent girls and young women community-based organisations,” Mauha said.

She recently completed a mentorship programme with girls in the Kavango Region.

Mauha is a 25-year-old who studied lifelong learning and community education.

She holds a bachelor’s degree in adult education from Unam.

According to Mkhulisi, she did not find any Namibian-based tutors that could be of assistance for her.

“Most of the tutoring websites which I found online were just based in South Africa and the United States, so I could not make use of their services and it was quite expensive as well. This was when the bug bit me and I decided to create my own website,” said Mkhulisi.

Mauha said another reason why they ventured into Namtutors was because of the failing rates of school learners.

“Through Namtutors, we wanted to create an opportunity where we address that. By connecting the learner to the tutor we are e able to help that student who is not able to cope and understand some of the subjects, so they are able to understand and pass their year.”

Namtutors is 100% Namibian-owned website that brings students and tutors together.

They have shortlisted a number of qualified young Namibians who can be of assistance to students. The website was launched last year and it is currently up-and-running.

“Before we shortlist the tutors, we do background checks to ensure they are qualified and are not scammers. We make sure we have access to their qualifications and academic records to eliminate the chances of unqualified tutors being shortlisted, who want to take advantage of students,” said Mkhulisi.

“The response from young people has been overwhelming. There are so many students who would like to share their knowledge as tutors, so I see the importance of this website. One of the benefits of this website is to allow students to also create an income for themselves, by offering their tutoring services.”

Just as with any start-up, they have struggled with finances, as starting a website costs anything from N$3 000 to N$5 000.

“It was a good challenge, however, as we learned how to be innovative and creative, without using a lot of money. Besides, we struggle a lot with accessing students. We also want to reach students who do not have access to advanced technology, as we want to assist everyone,” she added.

One of the highlights so far was being chosen to represent Namibia at the Impact Africa Summit in June, which brought together social entrepreneurs from all over the world, Mkhulisi said. “I was invited to represent Namtutors to pitch our idea and also gain more information and learn from other entrepreneurs.”

“We plan on providing emotional support to the students enormously online, to talk to them and encourage them. We want to find professionals that are qualified in that industry, such social workers,” Mahua added.