Namibian president announces free tertiary education from 2026
The president of Namibia, Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah, announced that university students will no longer be required to pay school fees from 2026.
She made the announcement during her maiden state of the nation address on Thursday, 24 April 2025.
According to The Star , Nandi-Ndaitwah, the country's first female president, said students will no longer pay tuition or registration fees at all public universities and technical colleges.
She said, 'I am pleased to announce that from the next academic year, commencing 2026, tertiary education will become 100% subsidised by the government.'
However, she added that there would not be 'significant' extra funding, raising concerns about the scheme's feasibility.
Nandi-Ndaitwah said that in the meantime, the only contribution required from families and students for now will be towards accommodation and other related costs.
She said, 'If we are going to add, we are not going to add a significant amount of funds.'
The country already offers free primary and high school education. However, families still cover costs of uniforms, books, and hostel fees.
Student organisation, Affirmative Repositioning Student Command (ARSC), criticised Nandi-Ndaitwah's announcement, saying it was an attention- seeking ploy by the government.
Speaking to BBC, the organisation said, 'There is no plan, it is just a confused announcement which raises [the] question of what [Nandi-Ndaitwah] means by tertiary education.'
Economist Tannen Groenewald said that scrapping school fees with no back-up funding could result in limiting the number of students enrolled.
He added that there's a possibility that this could apply to students from low-income households.
Let us know by leaving a comment below or send a WhatsApp to 060 011 021 1.
Subscribe to The South African website's newsletters and follow us on WhatsApp, Facebook, X and Bluesky for the latest news.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The South African
2 days ago
- The South African
Elon Musk vs Trump feud: SA praises Ramaphosa's 'strong muti'
South Africans are having a field day amid Elon Musk's dramatic fallout with US President Donald Trump. Some are even praising President Cyril Ramaphosa's 'strong muti' for the showdown that is unfolding in the White House and on the X platform. The SA leader visited the Oval Office last month for a bilateral meeting with Trump to discuss investments and do damage control on diplomatic relations. Elon – who was born in Pretoria and was Trump's right-hand man at the time – was also present during the tense talks. On the X platform, President Cyril Ramaphosa unknowingly trended amid the fallout between Elon Musk, the world's richest man, and President Donald Trump, the world's most powerful man. Ramphosa later conceded to being 'ambushed' as Trump berated him for pushing a 'white genocide' and 'confiscating land' from white farmers. However, on X, South Africans are sharing their wild opinions that Ramaphosa's 'witchcraft' in the White House is behind the showdown between the two influential, wealthy men. Others jokingly compared him to PSL club Orlando Pirates' resident sangoma, who is rumoured to use muti before big matches. From being allies in office and business to a public and messy break-up of their bromance – what went wrong between Elon Musk and President Donald Trump Barely a week after Elon left his official post as head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), the billionaire businessman found himself on the wrong side of the president. In a back-and-forth, Trump admonished the world's richest man for criticising his tax legislation, the One Big Beautiful Bill. He later threatened to cut Elon's government contracts and insinuated that 'nobody wanted' his Tesla cars. Trump accused his former right-hand man of 'just going CRAZY'! Elon Musk, who largely funded Trump's presidential campaign, called out his 'ungrateful' and 'lying' former boss. He shadily posted on his X account: 'Trump has 3.5 years left as President. But I will be around for 40+ years'. But one of the biggest bombshells was his revelation that President Trump is named in the Epstein files, relating to government intelligence about convicted sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein. Elon later posted on X that his company SpaceX would begin decommissioning its Dragon spacecraft, which directly aids NAS, the US civil space programme. Let us know by leaving a comment below, or send a WhatsApp to 060 011 021 1 . Subscribe to The South African website's newsletters and follow us on WhatsApp , Facebook , X, and Bluesky for the latest news.
The South African
2 days ago
- The South African
Elon Musk's X crash-out: Could he be deported to South Africa?
The world's richest man – Pretoria-born billionaire Elon Musk – has crossed the world's most powerful man, US President Donald Trump, and the world is no doubt shocked at what is unfounding. Could the X founder – who has both US and Canadian citizenship – find himself being deported back to South Africa? Barely a week after Elon Musk left his official post as head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), the billionaire businessman found himself on the wrong side of President Donald Trump. In a back-and-forth, Trump admonished the world's richest man for criticising his tax legislation, the One Big Beautiful Bill. He later threatened to cut Elon's government contracts and insinuated that 'nobody wanted' his Tesla cars. Trump accused his former right-hand man of 'just going CRAZY'! Elon Musk, who largely funded Trump's presidential campaign, called out his 'ungrateful' and 'lying' former boss. He shadily posted on his X account: 'Trump has 3.5 years left as President. But I will be around for 40+ years'. But one of the biggest bombshells was his revelation that President Trump is named in the Epstein files, relating to government intelligence about convicted sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein. Elon Musk's wild X posts and severed ties with President Trump have had many social media users wondering what will happen next. Some are predicting that Elon could have his US naturalised citizenship revoked and face deportation to South Africa. This could potentially be done through a process of denaturalisation. Elon Musk has leashed an X tirade against US President Donald Trump. One of his bold claims is that Trump is on the Epstein files. Image: Allison ROBBERT / AFP. According to law experts, denaturalisation occurs if officials can prove that citizenship was obtained unlawfully — typically through fraud, misrepresentation, or concealment of material facts. Elon boasts three citizenships – South Africa by birth, Canada through his maternal parentage, and the US as a naturalized citizen. He has repeatedly distanced himself from South Africa, claiming to be an American instead. Let us know by leaving a comment below, or send a WhatsApp to 060 011 021 1 . Subscribe to The South African website's newsletters and follow us on WhatsApp , Facebook , X, and Bluesky for the latest news.
The South African
2 days ago
- The South African
Elon Musk drops Donald Trump/Epstein files bomb
Elon Musk and Donald Trump had a rather public breakup on X today, and now it's gone even deeper. In a gobsmacking development on Thursday, Elon Musk has opened up an almighty can of worms involving the 45th and 47th President of the United States, Donald Trump. Tesla CEO Musk claims that Trump is in the Epstein files. The world's wealthiest and most powerful men are no longer besties, clearly. 'Without me, Trump would have lost the election,' Musk said on X. 'Such ingratitude.' Meanwhile, Tesla shares fell by 8% on Wall Street on Thursday following the spat. Tesla CEO Elon Musk listens as US President Donald Trump speaks to reporters in the Oval Office of the White House on 30 May 2025 in Washington, DC. Musk, who served as an adviser to Trump and led the Department of Government Efficiency, announced he would leave his role in the Trump administration to refocus on his businesses. Image: AFP Let us know by leaving a comment below or sending a WhatsApp to 060 011 0211. Also, subscribe to The South African website's newsletters and follow us on WhatsApp, Facebook, X and Bluesky for the latest news.
