Patience Makwele
The Parliament’s Standing Committee on Education, Youth, Civic Relations and Community Development has launched an inquiry into Namibia’s health training sector amid growing concerns over graduate unemployment, accreditation delays and the quality of training offered by some institutions.
The inquiry follows a sharp increase in the number of health training institutions in recent years, a development lawmakers say has expanded access to health education but also raised questions about the employability of graduates, the standard of training and whether the sector is adequately regulated.
The committee on Thursday convened a two-day consultation with health training institutions, regulators and students to gather evidence that will inform recommendations to Parliament.
Committee chairperson Marlyn Mbakera said the inquiry seeks to identify challenges within the sector and recommend reforms that will protect students and parents who invest heavily in tertiary education.
“We want to make life easier without the parents losing much of their money, sending their children to school, graduating and ending up with no work,” she said.
Representatives from 12 health training institutions told the committee that prolonged accreditation processes and overlapping regulatory requirements continue to hamper their operations.
Several institutions cited delays involving the Health Professions Council of Namibia (HPCN), the Namibia Qualifications Authority (NQA) and the National Council for Higher Education (NCHE), arguing that the approval process has become cumbersome.
Committee member Willem Amutenya questioned the impact of accreditation delays on students, asking what becomes of those enrolled when institutions fail to secure timely accreditation.
Compassion College director Johannes Nampweya said his institution had submitted its accreditation application but was still waiting for officials to conduct inspections.
“We submitted but up to now the people who are supposed to accredit us are sitting in their offices. They did not come. If you were me, honourable, what would you do?” he asked.
Meanwhile Symanek Specialized College representative Jeremia Fillemon said institutions face a difficult situation, claiming some accreditation requirements compel colleges to enrol students before they can obtain full accreditation.
Responding to the concerns, HPCN representative Professor Cilash Wilders said the council is only one part of the accreditation process.
She said institutions must also obtain approval from the NCHE and NQA before receiving HPCN accreditation and commencing training programmes.
The committee is expected to table its findings and recommendations in Parliament after concluding its consultations.
