The Namibia Students Financial Assistance Fund (NSFAF) has provided N$17.5 billion in financial assistance to 176,310 students over the past 10 years.
According to the latest data, since 2013, NSFAF’s funding to students has grown from disbursing N$520 million in 2013 to N$2.5 billion in 2024.
NSFAF Acting CEO Kennedy Kandume said the number of new intakes has also grown, from 10,600 in 2013 to 23,785 students in 2024.
He also revealed that during the loan application period for the 2024 academic year, which started on 29 November 2023, and ended on 29 February 2024, the Fund received 31,114 applications from Namibians seeking financial assistance.
From the application process, 23,785 applicants met the funding requirements, representing 76% of all applications received.
“The remaining 24% or 7,329 applications have been rejected, mostly on the account that their combined parental or own income is above the threshold. I must add here that the Fund’s current policy is designed to look after the needy, in other words, those who come from households with a combined gross income of between zero to N$500,000 per annum,” Kandume noted.
He further stated that out of the 7,329 unsuccessful applicants, the Fund received 2,429 appeals, and the appeal process is now in its final stage.
Meanwhile, the Minister of Higher Education, Technology and Innovation, Itah Kandjii-Murangi, stated that the ever-increasing demand for financial assistance has led the Ministry of Finance to increase the allocation to NSFAF from N$1.6 billion in 2023 to N$2.4 billion for the current financial year.
She noted that this represents a 50% budget increase which showcases the government’s commitment to the skilling of the youth.
“Equally so, together with my counterpart at the Ministry of Finance and Public Enterprises, Iipumbu Shiimi, to whom I express our appreciation and his entire team, we worked tirelessly over the past year to ensure that we solicit the necessary resources to breach the funding gap, necessitated by years,” she said.
She added that one of the government’s key principles is equity, and thus the Ministry’s goal has always been to find universal, sustained and systemic solutions in mobilising more resources, increasing equity and efficiency of spending on education and improving education financing.
“The equitable distribution of resources refers to the fair distribution of our limited resources to all sectors such as healthcare, education and industrial development and thus provides development opportunities across all segments of our society, irrespective of gender, race, social status or any other differentiating factor,” she said.
