Institute for Open Learning confers nearly one thousand NQF-accredited qualifications
The Institute for Open Learning (IOL) produced nearly one thousand graduates this year, making it the most prolific private institute of higher learning. The graduandi celebrated their success on Thursday 24 November when more than 280 students attended the graduation ceremony in person at a posh hotel in Windhoek.
The ceremony was also live-streamed on the institute’s social media channels.
IOL Head of Education, Ilana Calitz, welcomed the students, saying “You were all part of the group of students who were confronted with the COVID-19 pandemic, and you had to rapidly adjust to IOL’s new strategy of becoming an electronic and online educational institution where all student support services are offered electronically.” She praised the graduates for their level of resilience, noting, “You showed persistence and pressed ahead, reaching this milestone because of your dedication and hard work.”
“On this landmark occasion, we as the Institute for Open Learning (IOL) congratulate all our esteemed graduates. Your investment in your education is your gateway to a better future for yourself and your loved ones. Their support propelled you to become the success that you are today. Make this count!
Conferred qualifications ranged from NQF level 6 to level 8 and policing qualifications on NQF level 5 and level 6.
The IOL business model offers students access to accredited graduate courses, at a fraction of the cost of a residential university. With a full digital rollout now in place, it offers unlimited educational opportunities to prospective students anywhere in Namibia.
The main ceremony message was conveyed by the Managing Director of the Trustco Group, Dr Quinton van Rooyen. The Institute for Open Learning is a separate business unit in the group’s stable.
Van Rooyen spoke passionately about the importance for Namibians to ensure their position globally in the higher echelons of education. “Current tertiary enrollment rates across Africa stand at 8% of the population, well below the global average of 32%. It is incumbent of all of us as Namibians, and you as graduates to understand your position as the pride of Namibia, and also its hope for the future,” he said.
Higher Education Executive Director, Sanet Steenkamp, said it is her dream to see that the youth of Namibia position themselves in such a way that it ignites a continued improvement in education from grassroots level.
