Jakob Marengo’s ITC department hosts fourth graduation

The department of information, computing and technology (ICT) graduated their forth group of students with a certificate in professional office computing for underprivileged Namibian youth.
Tunohole Mungoba
Tunohole Mungoba

Established in 2011 at the Jakob Marengo Tutorial College in Windhoek, this program is 100% free with no registration or tuition fees. The program runs for six months and one month of job attachment. Edo-Omufo Triumph, one of the facilitators of the programme says the main objective of the programme was to reduce the unemployment rate through the use of ICT. “We also wanted to train underprivileged Namibian youth and to help them create jobs for themselves,” he says.

Twenty-five Namibian youth were offered places in 2011 and sixteen passed the final examination in June 2012 and awarded certificates in professional office computing as the first intake. “In January 2017, we received about one hundred and fifty applications for the program and only fifty were admitted and twenty-sevenwere successful in the final examination. From 2011 when the program stated till date, we had trained over three hundred and fifty Namibian youth in the field of ICT,” says Triumph.

Triumph, an ICT specialist by profession facilitated the program with Ottilie Abrahams, the school principal of the school provided all the resources and enabling environment such computers, printers, the software programs and projectors. “Our future plans include training the youth on software development and networking and well as to train those who are physically challenged,” he adds. “Most of our youth who graduated from the programme are gainfully employed and one is working in South Africa.” He also adds that their challenges include financing the tutors’ monthly allowance. “As of now, there is no sponsor for the programme, so I pay the tutors from my monthly salary. We truly need help in this regard and we are calling upon stakeholders or individuals to assist with this,” Other challenges include a photocopying machine is needed to make study guides copies for the trainees and graduation expenses like the renting a venue, refreshments and special papers for the certificates and transcripts.

Speaking during the graduation ceremony, Milton ya Otto, inspector of education of the Khomas region, says an education without ICT knowledge cannot survive in this generation as the world is quickly advancing to using a lot of technology. A product of Jakob Marengo himself, ya Otto advised the graduates to use computers daily and practice as all their knowledge could fade away. “Offer yourself to research assistant for your friends that doing their thesis and also make yourself available to type up their assignments,” he says.