5Year Strategic Plan - University of Namibia

2.3. Quality and Relevance Challenges
The principal contribution of a university to society lies on the quality of the knowledge it generates
and imparts, the habits of critical thinking it institutionalizes and inculcates in its graduates and the
values its promotes and demonstrates. Quality performance of a university is determined by indirect
indicators such as the calibre and commitment of teaching and research staff; the range and quality
of curricula and pedagogy and the quality and extent of educational facilities including the means of
accessing traditional as well as world-wide knowledge.
Quality staff, systems, values, resources and facilities are key to maintaining high levels of teaching
and scholarship, while vibrant research with a strong component of fieldwork leads not only to the
production of international quality work but also to the rise of knowledge centres of excellence
in particular fields. Reduced government subsidy and increased training costs lead to inadequate
physical facilities, slow down in staff development and thus poor quality staff. The situation is
aggravated by the replacement of senior experienced academic staff with junior staff. All these bring
about the erosion of some key factors which help to guarantee the quality of university education.
The conditions that respect and provide adequate means for the cultivation of quality knowledge are
becoming less favourable, while the percentage of academic staff across faculties remains quite low
and some departments are experiencing under-staffing. The challenge for UNAM is to review its
policies and fill gaps that impact on quality of education and research productivity.
2.4. Enrolment and Capacity Challenges
In recent years we have seen phenomenal increases in student enrolment while infrastructure in terms
of lecture rooms, laboratories and halls of residence have remained nearly the same. Substantial
expansion of both primary and secondary education leading to a sustained pool of secondary school
graduates vying to join university education as well as civil servants wishing to upgrade their
qualifications, have contributed to the massification of university education. Nevertheless, its is
important to note that despite remarkable expansion of enrolment, the gross enrolment ratio, that is,
the proportion of young people aged 19-24 that is in university is on the average quite low in Namibia
and the SADC Region as a whole, and can be regarded as inadequate for the demands of a modern
knowledge economy.
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