Eba Kandovazu
THE International University of Management (IUM) has announced that as of next year, the Ongwediva campus will be solely devoted to the administration of Education programmes.
Students currently enrolled for other programmes will be allowed to continue until they have completed their studies. No student intakes will be made other than those intending to study education from next January. IUM Communication Director, Gerry Munyama, says the decision is rooted in IUM Strategic Plan 2020-2025, which includes the strategic realignment of its programmes and overall activities as well as the utilisation of resources.
“No single lecturer is at risk of losing his or her job. Staff have already been sensitised on this strategic move and internal arrangements are being made for the efficient and effective utilisation of our human resources. All students at Ongwediva Campus who are currently pursuing courses in programmes other than Education, will be allowed to continue until they complete their studies. These courses will, therefore, still continue until 2024. Alignment of our programmes is not new, in 2017 we undertook a similar exercise whereby we transformed the IUM Swakopmund Campus into a Research and Consultancy Centre without jeopardising any lecturer’s job, “Munyama explains.
Although Munyama denies the prioritisation of Education programmes, he maintains that the move is simply an “alignment of IUM programmes and activities to drive quality academic programmes and curricula that are market relevant alongside proficient, efficient and effective delivery of teaching, training, learning, research and meaningful community outreach.”
According to him, the university’s current Strategic Plan is based on a comprehensive review of the last one which allowed it to critically assess the current educational trends in relations to immediate and future trends.
“Therefore in aligning our activities, goals and strategic objectives, and more particularly for our regional campuses, we develop and execute well-coordinated, community defined and endorsed outreach programmes that are focused to address, among others ,current and long term needs in each campus and environment .Our decision to transform Ongwediva into a Centre of Excellence for Education is deeply rooted in our philosophy,” Munyama adds.
