Intellect without morality is useless – Katenda
Student leaders have been urged to develop both their intellect as well as moral base. Bishop Lukas Katenda noted that education is not merely about knowledge but also where to obtain information.
Katenda is the bishop for the Reformed Evangelical Anglican Church of Namibia (REACH-Namibia).
“Cognitive development must be coupled with moral development. Whether or not you are religious, you should have moral grounds. We expect the youth to take over when we retire but if you do not have morals, I will be scared to give you even the fishing sector… this comes down to moral development,” he said.
SpeakingattheStudents’Union of Namibia’s (SUN) extraordinary congress at the Penduka Trust Centre in Windhoek on Saturday, bishop Katenda emphasised the need for students to “fight the forces of deterrence”, which could be economic, political, social or religious forces.
“If you cannot fight the forces of deterrence within you, forget about fighting the forces of deterrence from outside,” said the reverend.
He said students should be able to identity the forces of deterrence to resolve, preserve and implore resilience to avoid being “too weak and too soft”.
Themed‘Empoweringthrough Resilience in Education’, the event was attended by students from various institutions, who were addressed by former prime minister Nahas Angula as keynote speaker as well as bishop Katenda.
Also speaking at the congress, president of the union Bernard Kavau urged students to not be afraid of challenging the status quo.
“It does not matter which status quo. If you feel the tuition fees are too high – challenge it. If you feel students are being abused – challenge it; you know you are a legal organisation,” he said.
Kavau highlighted accommodation as the main challenge faced by students, saying the fees are exorbitant.
He said the union does not want political interference in government’s envisaged student village: “We want it to be inclusive – we want all students to benefit. It should be a good student village in the interest of the students. It should have free Wi-Fi.”
He furthered that inclusive education should mean that there should not be discrimination of funding on the basis of institutions the students are enrolled.
He implored SUN not to “sleep on students’ problems” by remaining unapologetic about matters such as those pertaining to curriculum development – the curricula should benefit students and be on par with global demands.
“We want you, as young people, to be involved in decision-making. Participate in leadership… I challenge you to be proactive,” he concluded.
In his keynote speech, Angula, who is a former education minister, said the Namibian youth is faced with many challenges in their social and economic lives: lack of appropriate safety nets and education as well as lack of employment opportunities.
He suggested that training providers consider introducing soft skills in their training programmes – skills related to ICT – to enable youth to create their own jobs.
“Don’t just tell young people to create their own jobs – give them skills to create their own jobs, but give them the same skills that will enable them to get jobs,” he said.
He further criticised the new secondary education curriculum, saying there was a need to consider the teacher expertise of educators who are equipped to teach only up to grade 10 in combined schools with the BETD qualification.
Angula also made a recommendation for the University of Namibia (Unam) to expand their teacher training programmes for the senior secondary level so that the country is equipped with qualified teachers.
He further advised students not to be discouraged by challenges but to see opportunities in the challenges.
“Discover that opportunity,” he propelled.
Angula was welcomed to the podium by the cheerful students, who sang uniquely crafted songs for him: “Oh, Nahas wetu, jabula wena! – Thank you. We should praise and thank Nahas – should be praised and thanked very well!” The SUN was formed in 2019 by a breakaway faction of the Namibia National Students Organisation.