Namibia: Steenkamp Calls for Trust in Qualifications

What the report says

Namibia’s newly appointed governing council of the Namibia Qualifications Authority has been asked to help rebuild public confidence in the country’s qualifications system. The call came from education, innovation, youth, sport, arts and culture minister Sanet Steenkamp during the council’s inauguration in Windhoek on Monday, according to The Namibian as republished by AllAfrica.

The seven-member body will serve a three-year term. Its mandate includes improving the quality, credibility and recognition of qualifications in Namibia, while ensuring that education and training outcomes are aligned with national development needs. Steenkamp also urged the council to work on updating the authority’s legal framework and to advance national policy work on qualifications standards and microcredentials.

Among the practical tasks highlighted were upgrades to the National Qualifications Framework Information Management System and to accreditation processes. The minister said modernization should make services more efficient and accessible, but without weakening standards. She also called for closer coordination with schools, training institutions, employers, professional bodies, labour organisations and government ministries.

More broadly, the report points to the role of qualification systems in shaping trust in education credentials and workforce mobility. The council includes members from public and private institutions, bringing a range of experience to the NQA’s oversight role.