NSFAF and this year’s Grade 12 results
By Hilya Taetutila Nghiwete,
CEO of NSFAF.
2017 started with a great deal of anticipation and anxiety for Grade 12 learners, friends, family and all people involved in education. Exam results were released and this signalled the beginning of a new chapter for many. I congratulate all of the learners that passed and now eagerly anticipate their journey onto Tertiary Education. For those that didn’t quite make the grade this year, do not despair…life is all about second chances.
You can still improve and reach your educational goals, if you continue to show commitment, dedication and not give up on your academic dreams and endeavors. NSFAF will be here waiting for you once you successfully complete your Grade 12 studies.
Education is the foundation upon which the youth can develop itself and in which a society must place its faith and surest way to eradicate poverty in a country. NSFAF is a great believer in this and has been given the mandate to support the youth by the Namibian Government to develop and offer financial support to access education. The importance of NSFAF which is critical for socio-economic development of this country is clear by the amount of money appropriated to it annually.
The Fund can easily be tracked and measured directly as to its contribution to the Harambee Prosperity Plan, especially in supporting youth in enrolling in vocational education.
Without investment in the youth and education, Namibia’s Government has realised it would be shooting itself in the foot when it comes to the nation’s development. NSFAF funding for education comes in different forms; Merit based scholarship – grants offered to all the best performing Namibians. There are also grants available for Priority Fields of Study – given to any eligible Namibian studying in a priority field of study. Finally there are loans – offered for non-priority studies whose parental income does not exceed N$750,000.
NSFAF is constantly looking for ways to improve its offerings for its stakeholders, mainly the students. To this end NSFAF launched the Eligibility Checker in December 2016 based on its Loan Grant Application Management Information System (LGAMIS).
The vision and our goal for 2017 is to make NSFAF the most efficient, effective and streamlined State Owned Enterprise in Namibia. By taking the registration and application process online, students can register from anywhere in Namibia, or the world in fact.
Through their smartphone, tablet, laptop or any other device by using SMS, USSD, the NSFAF Facebook Messenger or the NSFAF WebSite and within seconds they’ll know if they are eligible and for what form of financial assistance for their future studies. This cuts down on administration, employees frustration and overtime, increases efficiencyand eliminates long waiting time for potential students and uncertainty. SFAF has created a quantum leap in efficiency for the Namibian Education Sector.
The new system was launched on December 15, 2016 and has been a resounding success so far. Of course, you don’t need to be online to register or check your eligibility, a simple mobile phone will do. Our Regional Logistics and Resources group organized a roadshow to all 14 regions and 119 locations while the Campus Logistics and Resource group organized NSFAF stands at 18 campuses throughout the country. NSFAF has reached its broadest audience to date, including in the most remote and rural areas for the Intake and will continue to do so in the 1st Quarter of 2017. Especially now that the Grade 12 results Ordinary Level have come out.
There are a myriad of options for all you school leavers that want to truly make something of yourself and believe and know that education is the best option for you. Grab each academic opportunity with both hands and don’t let go. Never let lack of funding be a constraining factor in pursuing knowledge. Investing and financing education and training through bursaries is an important and powerful tool.
Students, you have been given the God-given intellectual capacity to succeed in your studies, together with NSFAF we can deliver on the promise to make Namibia a knowledge based society and truly operate within the spirit of Harambee.
