Windhoek: Government will fully subsidise undergraduate tuition and registration fees at public and private institutions as from next year, Minister of Education, Innovation, Youth, Sports, Arts and Culture, Sanet Steenkamp announced on Monday. This follows President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah's declaration earlier this year that tertiary education would become tuition-free under a phased model.

According to Namibia Press Agency, during a media conference in Windhoek, Steenkamp stated that Cabinet has approved a funding framework that covers all first-qualification students at NQF Level 5 to 8, including Honours level, at both public and accredited private institutions. Similarly, trainees at vocational centres from NQF Levels 1 to 6 will receive full fee subsidies. She emphasized that tuition and registration fees will no longer be paid by students if institutions meet minimum quality standards and students are pursuing their first qualification.

The minister outlined that private institutions will be funded on standardised benchmark rates administered through the Namibia Students Financial Assistance Fund (NSFAF), which will also oversee compliance, monitoring, means testing, and funding records. The policy excludes students doing second qualifications at the same or lower NQF level, non-Namibian students, and institutions that fail to meet accreditation standards.

Postgraduate studies remain excluded until a national priority study list is finalised. Steenkamp noted that students already funded for postgraduate studies will continue under existing loan agreements. She stressed the importance of fairness, stating that all Namibian students deserve equal access provided institutions meet the minimum standards.

Cabinet also resolved that student intake must remain aligned to institutional capacity. However, institutions with demonstrated capacity development may expand. Rigorous compliance inspections will commence in 2026 to verify standards across the higher and vocational education sectors.