Telecom Namibia awarded a record N$1.7million worth of bursaries to deserving students from accross the country to study in the fields of Electronic Engineering, Information Technology and Accounting at its 14th annual bursary award ceremony held late last week at Telecom Namibia’s head office.
The amount given means that Telecom Namibia will fork out a total amount close to N$ 3 million this year alone to service all existing bursaries, this according to Telecom Namibia’s managing director, Frans Ndoroma.
Ndoroma further stated that the Bursary Scheme has grown from strength to strength over the years and it’s aim is to encourage students from previously disadvantaged backgrounds to pursue careers in key skill areas .
Speaking at the same event, the minister of education, Hon Nangolo Mbumba said, education is important to national development and it is the most important and strategic tool a country can equip its citizens with.
“ The training of a human mind is not complete without education, education makes a person a right thinker. It teaches a person how to think and how to take decisions,” he said.
The minister added that “our country is faced with a serious problem of a high number of people with no relevant post Grade 12 qualifications or none at all and this makes it difficult  for them to enter into the good paying job market”.
“ This can be attributed to a lot of factors, one of them being that they come from poor backgrounds, making it difficult for their parents to afford paying for high tuitions fees and this bursary programme is aimed at addressing exactly that problem,” Mbumba said.