Annual Report 2007 - University of Namibia

and included the University of Zambia, as well as Hedmark University College in Norway. The mainpurpose is to implement a Master’s Degree in Literacy and Learning. The Faculty also continuedwith exchange activities with the University of Oulu (Finland), and one staff member visited theUniversity of Oulu as part of this agreement. Negotiations for other cooperation programmes arein progress.Organisations such as Namibia Literacy Trust, NamPower and Multi-Choice made substantialfinancial contributions to assist students with their studies. With the assistance of Universitymanagement, the Faculty of Education’s proposal for the establishment of dedicated sciencelaboratories and hostel facilities for Teacher Education students was considered favourably bythe Millennium Challenge Account.4.3.3 Staff MattersThe Faculty staff component remained stable with a total of 38 academic staff members. Of these,17 were female and 21 were male. The Faculty continued to give priority to capacity building andduring the year under review 14 staff members benefited from the University Staff DevelopmentProgramme. The majority of these staff members registered on a part-time basis for Ph.D. studiesat UNAM or other institutions in the SADC region. Two staff members completed their Ph.D.studies. The Faculty also had three male and two female academic support staff members, all ofthem Namibians.4.3.4 Student MattersThe Faculty of Education continued to offer quality programmes relevant to the needs of theNamibian educational sector. The student numbers increased slightly compared to the previousyear. Of the enrolled students the majority came from the Khomas region, followed by the Omusatiand Oshana regions.During 2007 a total of 218 students graduated from the various programmes of the Faculty.158 obtained under-graduate degrees, 54 under-graduate diplomas, 5 Masters degrees, while 1student obtained a Ph.D. degree.The University wide Student-Lecturer Forum that was held for the first time in 2006 proved to bea very productive forum for students to discuss academic and other issues with their lecturers.During 2007 the UNAM Disability Unit was officially launched. This UNAM-wide unit resorts underthe Faculty of Education and is a service unit for students with severe disabilities. The Faculty alsosucceeded in setting up a computer laboratory for students.27