Namibian President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah has announced that her government will introduce free higher education at state universities and technical colleges from next year.

Nandi-Ndaitwah, who was sworn in as Namibia’s first female leader last month, made the announcement while delivering her State of the Nation (SONA) speech to Parliament on Thursday, 24 April. She said:

I am pleased to announce that from the next academic year, commencing 2026, tertiary education will become 100% subsidised by the government.

Namibia already provides free education in public primary and secondary schools, although parents still typically need to pay for school uniforms, stationery, books, and hostel fees.

The new policy will remove tuition and registration fees at universities and colleges. There have been calls for years to have all levels of education subsidised by the government in the country, which has a population of around 3 million people.

The President said the policy aims to improve opportunities for young people, particularly in the face of youth unemployment and poverty. Official figures show that around 2.1 million Namibians are under the age of 35.

Two of Namibia’s seven universities are government-run and will offer free education under the new policy.

All of the country’s seven vocational training centres are also government-run and will no longer charge tuition fees.

More: Associated Press