University of Namibia feels pinch of budget cuts

Stiff budget cuts will affect flagship programs that can contribute to national development at University of Namibia (UNAM), the university's vice chancellor said Tuesday.

The budget cut is expected to cripple implementation of the university's national flagship programs such as Dentistry, Anesthetic, Engineering, Animal Health and Medicine among others, said Lazarus Hangula during the official opening of the 2017 academic year held in Windhoek on Tuesday.

Following a directive by the Ministry of Finance for Ministries to review public expenditure, the operating budget of the state university has been slashed by 40 percent.

"The systematic regressive cut of up to 40 percent in UNAM budget is tantamount to killing this national university," said Hangula.

For the past three years, UNAM received budget allocation of 1.1 billion Namibian dollars (about 80 million U.S. dollars) to deliver services to its 21,000 learners. However, following the budget cuts, the university has to implement its programs with a reduced allocation of 600 million Namibian dollars (about 43 million U.S. dollars) to its 24,000 students registered for the 2017 academic year.

But despite the cuts, Hangula said that the ministry will review it expenditure, calling for cooperation from all staff members and its satellite campuses to make an effort to innovate and do more with few resources at hand.

"The call is critical to our success as a national university because we have more national programs than before, therefore, let us innovate," he said. Endit