Unam demands 50% deposit

Unam demands 50% depositLarger deposits for foreign students The University of Namibia has implemented large tuition fee deposits to be paid upon registering as a student. Namibians who have been granted admission to the University of Namibia will have to pay a 50% deposit on their tuition fees in addition to the mandatory N$2 000 payable at registration.

SADC residents will have to pay 60% of their tuition fees upfront, while non-SADC foreigners must pay 70% upon registration.

This was confirmed by Unam spokesperson Simon Namesho yesterday.

“At this stage the status quo remains. We had a discussion with the ministry but no other decision has been taken,” he said.

The hefty registration fees only apply to privately funded students and first-year Namibia Students Financial Assistance Fund (NSFAF) loan holders. Senior students who are NSFAF loan holders will be covered by the scheme and do not have to pay the upfront amount of N$2 000. For example, a prospective Namibian engineering student at Unam will have to pay about N$17 010 at registration. The decision to increase the fees payable at registration was taken during a recent council meeting of the university.

Before that, Namibian Unam students were only required to pay N$6 650, which included a N$1 650 registration fee and a N$5 000 tuition fee deposit.

The university has reportedly been too lenient in the past and has not been able to recover all the fees from students throughout the year.

However, some commentators have criticised the new model.

A well-placed official in the ministry of higher education told Namibian Sun that the new Unam model appeared to have been adopted from South African universities.





The official said it was unreasonable given the tough economic times and he believed the ministry must intervene.

“I am sure it is done in South Africa, but I am also sure South African universities are lenient with local students. For this, one would have to get a loan to pay. Who can pay N$20 000 for studies in January?” the official said.

The amount varies for different study courses but remains an average N$10 000 and more. Students at Namibia's University of Science and Technology (Nust) pay a minimum N$4 000 at registration twice a year.



Pay up

Higher education minister Itah Kandjii-Murangi, who is a former dean of students at Unam, said students would simply have to pay up.

She added that it was the prerogative of tertiary institutions to find ways to recover the funds.

“I cannot deviate from decisions made by their councils. We must just pay up. The debt has escalated; these institutions find it difficult to maintain quality we cannot erode the quality of our institutions by not paying dues,” she said.

She criticised what she called a trend of some private and international students registering at universities with a nominal registration fee and as the year progresses they refuse to pay up.

Meanwhile, the two universities are yet to submit projections of their operational budgets, as requested by the ministry.

This follows their rejection of NSFAF acknowledgment letters as guarantee of payment for new students.

By close of business yesterday the institutions was yet to submit their respective projections on operational budget requirements.

This was confirmed by higher education permanent secretary Albert van Kent.

“We are saying that annually we have a certain amount of funding for students and from historical data we are able to have a fair idea of the number of students that may need funding, but we cannot just give a blanket amount,” he said.



Burden

Namibia National Students Organisation Khomas secretary-general Shoki Kandjimi criticised the 50% deposit, saying it was unheard of.

“What about a parent with two students? It cannot be right. No one can afford it. We are not happy with this decision. I think Unam must just allow students to pay a nominal fee which is affordable,” he said.

JEMIMA BEUKES