• Youth

NANSO says student accommodation is top priority

NANSO says student accommodation is top priority

Elizabeth Joseph

WINDHOEK

The Namibia National Students Organisation (Nanso) has revealed that its biggest focus for 2023 will be the agenda for student accommodation.

Nanso's spokesperson, Dorthea Nangolo says over the years, the state of education in Namibia has deteriorated, making it almost

impossible for students to study.

"All of Nanso's advocacy points, stem from access to quality education. We continue to investigate what the problem is and what we can do to fix it. Student rent needs to be regulated as well," Nangolo says.

She adds that students are expected to pay large amounts for accommodation, therefore, there must be a regulation for this.

It takes a Village

On the 1st of January 2023, Nanso planned for students to move into a newly developed student and trainee accommodation, the Student Village, in Khomasdal but according to Nangolo, this did not happen.

The ministry’s spokesperson, Selma Ngola, confirmed that the Student Village has not been built yet.

“The ministry has acquired the land but has not started building and development yet. The ministry is waiting for the transaction to be approved by the ministry of finance so at the moment we don‘t know when development will start,” Ngola said during a telephonic interview with the Namibian Sun.

Last year, during her budget motivation speech, for the 2022/2023 financial year, the minister of higher education, Itah-Kandji Murangi said the long-awaited construction of a student village would start in the current financial year.

However, to date, no communication with Nanso from the ministry has come to pass.

“We have planned to ensure that the government speeds up the development of the student village. We are also looking at funding in general and how we can find a strategic way to generate funds towards access to higher education,” Nangolo adds.

DRAGGING FEET: The Namibia National Students Organisation (Nanso) has said that even though the ministry of higher education is dragging its feet with the development of the Student Village, it will continue prioritizing student accommodation.

PHOTO FILE