EDUCATION

Mandate: “To educate and train for sustainable national development & promote arts and culture.”

Vision: “To be the ministry of excellence in providing quality inclusive education and promoting arts and culture for the prosperity of the nation.”

Mission: “To provide accessible, equitable and inclusive quality education for a tolerant, skilled, productive and competitive nation, to promote and preserve arts and culture for nationhood and unity in diversity.”

TRAINING INSTITUTIONS

There are numerous training institutions in the country. The need for quality vocational and technical training has recently been recognised as a vital factor in equipping Namibia with an adequately skilled labour force that will in turn strengthen socio-economic development and self-employment.

The Namibia Training Authority (NTA) is the regulating body of the vocational education and training sector in Namibia. It is tasked with the responsibility to arrange an efficient, effective and sustainable vocational education and training system (VET) aligned with the current and future skill needs of the labour market. Therefore the NTA seeks to ensure access, equity and quality in vocational education and training throughout the country.

Currently the NTA runs seven vocational education and training centres: Eenhana Vocational Training Centre (Ohangwena), Nakayale VTC (Omusati), Okakarara VTC (Otjozondupa), Rundu VTC (Kavango), Vaombola VTC (Oshana), Windhoek VTC (Khomas) and Zambezi VTC (Zambezi).

The various trade/occupational training offerings include bricklaying and plastering, office administration, information and communication technology, joinery, plumbing, electrical general, welding and fabrication, fitting and turning and starting a business.

The Windhoek Vocational Training Centre (WVTC) is the flagship institution in the vocational education and training system. Its facilities, equipment, competent staff and social ambience provide trainees with the necessary environment for success in their career development.

Since the inception of the centre there has been a steady growth in the number of course participants as well as in the number of graduates entering the labour market.

Supporting small and medium enterprise development (SMEs) is important to the centre and it endeavours to co-operate with institutions involved in this field. The Windhoek Vocational Training Centre is geared to make its contribution in this regard.

FabLab Namibia (Fabrication Laboratory) assists entrepreneurs and industry with the tools to make almost anything. This includes technology-enabled products generally perceived as limited to mass production. FABlab Namibia is the first advanced manufacturing, prototyping and design lab in Namibia. The lab was established in partnership with the Ministry of Industrialisation, Trade and SME Development to enhance local product competitiveness, bridge the technological divide through access to information communication technology (ICT), new machinery, tools, knowledge, skills and equipment – ultimately to give rise to a technologically and creatively advanced local economy.

FABlab Namibia brings advanced vocational training to the country with the MIT FABfoundation-accredited FABacademy certificate and diploma course (starting in January 2017) as well as various other innovative activities; see the website for more details or call +264 61 207 2885.

TERTIARY INSTITUTIONS

Namibia’s two main public tertiary institutions of general education are the National University of Sciences and Technology (NUST) and the University off Namibia (UNAM).
In addition there are a number of specialised tertiary educational institutions such as the College of the Arts (Cota), The University Centre for Studies in Namibia (TUCSIN) in Windhoek, Oshakati, Rundu and Rehoboth, the Namibian Maritime and Fisheries Institute (NAMFI) in Walvis Bay and the Namibian Institute of Mining and Technology (NIMT) in Arandis.

SCHOOL TERMS 2017

First Term
First School Day:
Wednesday, 11 January
Midterm Break:
Monday, 22 – Friday, 24 March
Last School day:
Wednesday, 26 April

Second Term
First School Day:
Tuesday, 30 May
Last School Day:
Wednesday, 23 August

Third Term
First School Day:
Tuesday, 5 September
Last School Day:
Tuesday, 5 December
First Term 2018:
Wednesday, 10 January 2018