By Koviao Matuzee
Students enrolled in the revised one-year Industrial Psychology honours programme at the University of Namibia (UNAM) remain stranded at home months after the programme was expected to resume, raising concerns over delays in accreditation, poor communication and uncertainty surrounding their future.
The revised programme, which is currently under review by the Namibia Qualifications Authority (NQA), was initially expected to be finalised by April 2026. However, students say there has been very little progress and no clear timeline has been communicated to them.
Several affected students, who requested anonymity, said they have not been able to register and remain uncertain about when classes will commence.
According to information provided by Simon Namesho, the public relations officer at UNAM, the delay is linked to ongoing regulatory processes involving the Health Professions Council of Namibia.
Namesho said only 40 students can enrol for both Clinical and Industrial Psychology streams. The Clinical Psychology stream was approved in March this year. However, students raised concerns that registrations were only open for one day and conducted exclusively online.
He further explained that the one-year programme will become a registered programme with the council, meaning the university cannot offer it until all regulatory requirements are concluded. “Regulations are currently being finalized, and the programme is expected to be ready by the second semester of this year,” Namesho said.
Namesho added that the university is working on an assimilation process to ensure that the affected students are able to cover the required coursework for both semesters once the programme resumes. Additional resources are also being considered to support the implementation of the revised curriculum.
Despite these assurances, students and parents say communication from the institution has been inadequate. One parent who also spoke on condition of anonymity said attempts to seek clarity from NQA, the Minister of Education Sanet Steenkamp, the Faculty Officer of Allied Health Sciences, Agnes Shipanga, and several other representatives of the institution yielded no assistance.
Students say the prolonged delays have disrupted their academic plans and left many frustrated, particularly as they remain unregistered months into the academic year.
They further claim that, despite assurances that the programme would be ready by the second semester, no official update has been provided and no registration process has commenced.
More than a month after these concerns were first raised, affected students say their situation remains unchanged, with many still waiting for clarity on when the revised programme will be approved and offered.
Efforts to obtain comment from the NQA, the Minister of Education, the Health Professions Council of Namibia, and other representatives of the institution were unsuccessful by the time of publication.
