Education Revolution: Namibian President declares free university tuition
The #FeesMustFall movement in South Africa, a student-led campaign that drew global acclaim, was a powerful call for decolonised and affordable education. l HENK KRUGER/FILE
Image: Henk Kruger/Independent Newspapers
'WE have heard your cries, the fees have fallen,' announced Namibian President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah. A mere month into her presidency, the first female president of the sub-Saharan nation made waves this week after announcing that university fees would be scrapped from 2026.
'I am pleased to announce that from the next academic year, commencing 2026, tertiary education will become 100% subsidised by the government,' the president said during her first State of the Nation Address in Parliament. She emphasised that 'no registration (or) tuition fees' would be required from any student at a public university or technical college.
This is a particularly significant achievement by Nandi-Ndaitwah, considering the #FeesMustFall movement across neighbouring South Africa, a student-led campaign that drew global acclaim as a powerful call for decolonised and affordable education. In South Africa, #FeesMustFall not only emerged as a call to halt increases in student fees, but it also spotlighted systemic inequalities in education, largely deriving from our tyrannical history of apartheid.
The systemic injustices within our education systems are not only a critical component of the apartheid legacy in our post-democratic society; they also reflect the failures of the South African government in promoting a critical human right: the right to education.
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In Namibia, the #FeesMustFall movement was a reflection of the South African-led one, with a specific call for a complete shift to free, government-funded tertiary education. Similarly to South Africa, it also called for the further need to address equitable access to education, and recognise that access to quality education is not equal for all Namibians. It is, therefore, groundbreakingly admirable that Nandi-Ndaitwah has taken this significant stride in ensuring equally accessible education across all of Namibia.
Continentally, Namibia will be joining Algeria, Botswana, Egypt, Libya, Mauritius, Morocco, South Africa, and Tunisia in the provision of free tuition at public universities. Now, Namibia joins Kenya in their educational commitment: offering free primary and secondary education to its citizens. However, Namibia now stands as the ultimate benchmark, offering free education from the primary schooling level, all the way to tertiary education. This is, indeed, what the youth call 'a big flex' (meaning an impressive feat).
President Nandi-Ndaitwah has certainly set the bar high. Her actions reflect a leadership that is not only listening, but also readily taking action. And all African nations desperately need to follow suit.
One of the US Founding Fathers, Benjamin Franklin, once cleverly said: 'An investment in knowledge pays the best interest.' This is certainly an outlook that is being upheld in Nandi-Ndaitwah's administration.
What needs to be clear is that there is nothing that exempts Namibia from any of the challenges that are faced across African nations. Like many of its neighbours, it also contends with issues of economic access, especially for impoverished communities, shortages in qualified teachers, high dropout and reposition rates, and more.
What the Namibian government has done is to meaningfully commit to addressing these challenges by putting their money where their mouth is. They have solidly implemented the subsidisation of fees, and they continue to rework their inclusivity policies, particularly where marginalised groups and foundational education are concerned. 'It is what we make of what we have, not what we are given, that separates one person from the other'. This profound statement by South Africa's first democratic President, Nelson Mandela, is an exact echo of the performance of Nandi-Ndaitwah.
While the youth across the continent hunger for knowledge and innovation, too many of our governments continue to treat education as a secondary concern, throwing words around instead of resources, when we're in a crisis that demands action. We cannot build an independent, thriving Africa on broken chalkboards, underpaid teachers, and overcrowded classrooms. Educating the youth and every member within our society will be critical to the empowerment of our people.
As a society, it is pertinent that we demand more than just slogans from those in leadership. We need leaders who prioritise our children's future over comfort and convenience. We need governments that understand that education is not charity, but a right; not a burden, but a backbone of true liberation. The calm before the storm is over. It's time for our leaders to invest, reform, and truly educate, or step aside for those who will.
What's truly evident, now more than ever, is that, have examples of prolific leadership emerging across Africa. Leaders like Nandi-Ndaitwah in Namibia and President Ibrahim Traore in Burkina Faso ensure that the pessimistic, harmful narratives and prejudices around African leadership are crumbling to pieces. These are leaders who are stepping up to the plate and truly demonstrating commitment. They are aligning their actions with their words and putting the needs of the people at the forefront. The potential for Africa's proliferation is endless when guided by ethical, committed leadership, and we are seeing living examples of this, a little bit at a time.
For generations, colonial and neoliberal systems have restricted access to education, gatekeeping opportunities behind tuition walls that excluded the poor, the rural, the working class, and so many more. This profound move by Nandi-Ndaitwah has essentially torn down those walls.
African youth have consistently challenged systems that treat knowledge like a commodity instead of a birthright. To drive forward reform in education and succeed is a commendable achievement that cannot be understated. This is truly exemplary of 'the power of the people'.
These types of new policies are those that bring about meaningful transformation, especially for children, women, those with disabilities, youth in remote areas, the historically excluded, and so many more. We cannot let uncertainty be an excuse for inaction. We must remember that no liberation movement in our history began with perfect conditions. Freedoms are built upon the audacity to act.
Nandi-Ndaitwah has planted a golden seed. Let the rest of the continent take note. Africa's renaissance will not be imported; it will be built by educated, empowered, audacious Africans. Free education is not just about entrance to classrooms; it is about human rights and justice at its core. It is about healing our society from a pervasive imperialist system that still has its roots tightly wound around SA's institutional neck.
Education is about reclaiming our collective right to dream of an empowered self and to shape the Africa we want to see. 'No country can really develop unless its citizens are educated,' Mandela once profoundly said. 'Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.'
* Tswelopele Makoe is a gender and social justice activist and editor at Global South Media Network. She is a researcher, columnist, and an Andrew W Mellon scholar at the Desmond Tutu Centre for Religion and Social Justice, UWC. The views expressed are her own.
** The views expressed here do not reflect those of the Sunday Independent, IOL, or Independent Media. Get the real story on the go: Follow the Sunday Independent on WhatsApp.
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