Justicia Shipena
Political analysts have urged the government to first address the root causes of unemployment before introducing a free tertiary education policy.
Political analyst Sackaria Johannes has cautioned the government to examine the root causes of unemployment before rolling out free tertiary education.
In an interview with the Windhoek Observer last week, Johannes said the real issue is not access to education but the growing number of unemployed graduates.
“The leaders should start by asking, ‘What is the real problem that we have? Are they people who want to go to school but cannot afford it? Or is it that we already have graduates who don’t have jobs?” he said.
His remarks come after President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah announced during her State of the Nation Address that the government will offer free tertiary and vocational education starting in 2026.
Johannes warned that while the policy sounds good, it could add pressure to an already fragile job market.
“We are supposed to focus more on job creation rather than on qualification creation. We have people with master’s and PhDs, but they don’t have jobs. Why? Because the industry cannot absorb them. I think we are just creating another problem on top of the existing problem already, but we were supposed to find a solution first before we do that,” he said.
He believes funding should instead support business, agriculture, and vocational training, where people can create jobs.
“If you are creating people with degrees and then they go and sit at home, it doesn’t make sense,” he said.
The country faces a youth unemployment crisis with youth constantly taking to the streets to demand jobs.
Reports by the Namibia Statistics Agency (NSA), in February this year showed that Namibia has the highest unemployment rate in southern Africa.
The country’s unemployment rate stands at 36.9%, leaving approximately 320,450 Namibians without jobs.
Former Parliamentarian, Mike Kavekotora, disagrees.
He said free education aims to reduce unemployment by giving students equal opportunities and improving their lives.
“My concern is more on the quality and compatibility of free education with economic expectations. Currently, Namibian institutions of higher learning are producing graduates who face numerous hindering challenges, ranging from discriminatory practices and nepotism to favouritism. In some instances, our education system does not meet industry expectations,” he said.
Kavekotora also pointed to inequality in basic education, saying it gives schools in major towns an unfair advantage over those in rural areas.
This comes despite free primary and secondary education being in place since 2013.
“Those factors, first and foremost, need to be addressed, and that would call for a structural adjustment in basic education. I am of the opinion that free education must be aligned with the expectations of industry if we are to get the desired return on investment. Free education will also be meaningless unless it is in synergy with our economic outlook,” he said.
The youth make up the majority of Namibia’s population.
According to the 2023 census, out of a total population of three million, about 2.1 million are young people.
