Funding Higher Education (in)Equality: A comparison of Namibian, South African and US funding agencies

• In Event: Higher Education Policy and Finance

Proposal

Higher education is an important sector in any country. It is viewed as a driver for innovation, a “passport out of poverty” (Hope Foundation, 2015) and an avenue for a more just society. Higher education qualification sets the holder for an employable future because “It is in universities and other post-secondary institutions that students are expected to gain the needed skills for them to contribute to advancing the economic engine (Axtel & Asino, 2020, p.2). Yet, globally not everyone who wishes to access higher education can do so, which problematizes the long held view of associating higher education with “lifelong wellbeing and poverty alleviation” (McNamara, Harvey, & Andrewartha, 2019, p. 85).
For decades higher education globally has relied on government funding or as a way to make up their shortfall. However, currently the combination of declining economies, rising populations, political and social instability and conflict, and oppressive debts have all contributed to making higher education less accessible especially for African tertiary institutions (Johnstone, 2006, p.13). Diminishing or limited funds often lead to examination and realignment of priorities including asking whether or not funding structures accomplish their goals.
Many countries have organisations tasked with disseminating funds that facilitate access to higher education. In the case of Namibia, the organisation is the Namibian Students Financial Assistance Fund (NSFAF) which was established by parliamentary Act 26 of 2000 (Parliament, Republic of Namibia, 2000). It’s objective is to provide financial assistance to enable students to study or to do research and more specifically, to facilitate the training of students in prescribed courses or fields of study at approved institutions of higher learning. NSFAF is funded by the government through budget allocation and advances loans to admitted students at approved higher education institutions. The Act places no limitations on who can be funded, which means that the government is sharing limited funds equally between high- and low-income students. It is therefore possible that low income students are worse off in the end which can impact their completion rates.
Higher education funding programs elsewhere in the world often focus on need-basis, to ensure low-income students can afford to pay for their studies. The Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), NSFAF’s equivalent in the United States lists demonstration for financial aid as the first eligibility criteria. The National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) the South African equivalent highlights that it provides aid to poor undergraduate students to help them pay for the cost of tertiary education.

Purpose
Namibia is no exception to considering higher education as a tool for social mobility (Brown, 2018; Armstrong & Hamilton, 2013). The purpose of this paper is to explore the effectiveness of funding structures towards attaining their stated goals of addressing inequalities. Using the methods of document analysis and thematic analysis, the objective of this paper is to critically analyze the funding structure advanced by NSFAF and how it compares to NSFAS and FAFSA in facilitating access and addressing inequalities in the country. The study also compares the NAFSA structure to the National Student Financial Aid Scheme in South Africa and the The Free Application for Federal Student Aid of the United States to explore how the three organisations differ and what lessons can be learned from the way they are structured.
Discussion
Most African countries are under pressure to continue increased enrollment to catch up with the rest of the world in terms of education, however with reduced funding, this goal might be unachievable. In East Africa, dual-track tuition policies resulted in increased enrollment, mainly due to commercial banks and privately sponsored students doing everything they can to access education in order to elevate themselves out of poverty, however there are still challenges with equity in these policies as low income students are left out (Marcucci et al., 2008).
Student loans, which are a burning topic in the United States currently are found to have led to the student debt crisis. Student loans were found to cause income inequality and cause more harm to low- and medium-income students (Ahmed & Kabir, 2019). Namibia as a country with over 40% youth unemployment including graduates could see a situation where student loans are not repaid. A study on NSFAF loan repayments by Kanelombe (2019) found that up to 81% of loan recipients did not pay back their loans. Archibald and Feldman (2017) further add that that students, especially those outside STEM, are continuously finding it hard to justify the cost of college due to lack of well-paying jobs available in their fields after graduation. The question facing Namibia and to which the present study adds insight, is whether the structure of NSFAF is contributing towards realising the goals that the country has for its higher education system.

References
Ahmed, A., & Kabir, M. A. (2019). Effect of Student Loans on Income Inequality in the United States. Journal of Applied Business and Economics, 21(8).
Archibald, R. B., & Feldman, D. H. (2017). The road ahead for America's colleges and universities. Oxford University Press
Armstrong, E. A., & Hamilton, L. T. (2013). Paying for the Party. Harvard University Press.
Axtell, S., & Asino, T.I. (2020). Emerging Information Technology Issues in Higher Education. In IT Issues in Higher Education: Emerging Research and Opportunities (pp. 1-16). IGI Global.
Brown, R. (2018). Higher education and inequality. Perspectives: Policy and Practice in Higher Education, 22(2), 37-43.
Kanelombe, J. F. (2019). The effectiveness of the Namibia Student Financial Assistance Fund in recovering loans(Doctoral dissertation, University of Namibia).
Marcucci, P., Johnstone, D. B., & Ngolovoi, M. (2008). Higher educational cost-sharing, dual-track tuition fees, and higher educational access: The East African experience. Peabody Journal of Education, 83(1), 101-116.
McNamara, P., Harvey, A., & Andrewartha, L. (2019). Passports out of poverty: Raising access to higher education for care leavers in Australia. Children and Youth Services Review, 97, 85-93.
Johnstone, D. B. (2006). Higher Education Finance and Accessibility: Tuition Fees and Student Loans in Sub-Saharan Africa. In Financing Higher Education (pp. 201-226). Brill Sense.

Authors

• Josephine Shikongo, Oklahoma State University

• Tutaleni I. Asino, Oklahoma State University