Late financial assistance hampers students progress
From the left, NANSO Taskforce Vice Chair George Kambala, Khomas Regional Chairperson Dimbulukeni Nauyoma, and Khomas Regional Secretary Ashwell Forbes. (Photograph by Musa Carter)
In a media briefing in Windhoek this week, Nanso’s Khomas Regional Chairman, Dimbulukeni Nauyoma expressed his growing concern of how the NSFAF has become a stumbling block in students’ academic life.
“We understand that the government can not help us in all our problems but we expect them to help us were we can not help ourselves. We acknowledge and appreciate the efforts of the government by assisting students with transport and book subsidies, however this good gesture falls flat when this money only comes in the late period of the year, at times even during December” stated Nauyoma.
He explained that some of the students are not as fortunate as the others and how they require the funds for survival during the course of the year and the NSFAF seems not to be catering for them resulting in late registration for some of the students under the fund’s aid.
“We are further informed about how the institution delays the pay out to students deliberately; this behaviour will not be tolerated. We warn these institutions that [they must] know themselves that this behaviour is unacceptable” he said. Nauyoma pointed out that some of the NSFAF staff has not been cooperative or supportive of the students’ needs. He accused them of being rude and under-productive in assisting various students and he castigated those practises.
He requested that the Namibian Student Financial Assistance Fund should speed up its processes and also asked for a computerized system to avoid the delays in funding for the students. “We want to be informed of why funds are being held at institutions and why should the institution’s maladministration lead to our starvation” Nauyoma said.
