GOVERNMENT TRANSFERS COLLEGES OF EDUCATION TO THE UNIVERSITY

Namibia’s four national Colleges of Education will soon be merged into the Faculty of Education of the University of Namibia, following a recent Cabinet resolution to this effect.  These are the Windhoek, Ongwediva, Rundu and Caprivi Colleges of Education.

“The Office of the Vice Chancellor received a letter from the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Education, Mr. I V Ankama, informing UNAM formally about a Cabinet Action Letter to their Ministry regarding Cabinet Decision No. 18/29/09/09/011 approving the full merger of the colleges with UNAM’s Faculty of Education effective from 1 April 2010,” The Pro-Vice Chancellor: Academic Affairs & Research Prof. Osmund Mwandemele confirmed.

In an interview with one of the daily newspapers, the Rector of the Windhoek College of Education Ms. Emma Kirchner was very supportive of the merger indicating that it has been a process to which the colleges were party to. “Although I am confident that we will stay a teacher education campus, our name might change. The way we are governed will change. We have lobbied for better articulation and entry requirements, better working conditions, better financing and a better management system for years now,” Kirchner said. The University and the Ministry of Education has constituted a joint committee to facilitate the merger process. Accordingly a number of sub-committees have also been put in place to look at specific areas such as academic activities, infrastructure, human resources and student welfare.

Effective 01 April 2008, the University successfully integrated the Neudamm and Ogongo Colleges of Agriculture into its Faculty of Agriculture and Natural Resources. This latest development makes UNAM the single largest broad-based University system in the entire SADC region. Ranked amongst the top 26 Universities in Africa, UNAM clearly remains the leading institution of higher education in Namibia.