Lifelong learning, formerly known as “Adult Education”, is important for additional training in economic growth and income distribution, which should receive priority, since previously acquired knowledge can no longer be applied in the modern era. Financing lifelong learning will bring tremendous benefits for increasing human capital accumulation; From the point of view of economic growth, the ability to improve knowledge is necessary for any country that cannot be competitive without applying knowledge. Education plays a key role in strengthening the human capital base, which supports skills-related advice and innovation systems.
The challenges we face in Namibia are to solve the problems of the knowledge society, inadequate funding for higher education, inadequate educational strategies for marginalized groups, the lack of schools in remote areas and the gap between educational institutions and communities. A comprehensive program of education in the field of lifelong education should include all levels: the development of young children, primary, secondary, higher education and adult education within the overall development of the country. There is also a need for cost sharing between government, individuals, families, and employers in order to create equitable, affordable, and sustainable funding for lifelong learning.
The source of funding for lifelong learning will be employers who benefit from employees who have graduated and receive knowledge in educational institutions. Therefore, employers will only cover the costs of education and training if an employee requires certain skills for certain jobs. Private organizations, such as non-governmental organizations (NGOs), provide grants and are sent to students who directly need financial assistance, this is usually limited, and they will never be able to provide funding for all, especially with increasing demand for higher education.
The responsibility of students financing their own education is very noticeable in Namibia, which means that the student has the knowledge for himself and has financial stability to pay for the best educational institutions that he can afford. The private sector in most cases does not have the funds for education, which makes it a prerequisite for the government to help the Fund for Financial Assistance in Namibia (NSFAF), these loans in most cases had to pay off in order for the fund to be sustainable, most of the grant holders are in the field of education , care and medical care. However, the current budget constraints do not allow the government to meet the increased demands for higher and continuing education.
Funding for lifelong continuing education should be aimed at making education accessible to all the goals of inclusive education. In order to have a proper financing system, huge benefits can be achieved, this will help create a more skilled workforce, encouraging people to explore lifelong learning as an advanced training model, with greater control over their personal development and a further increase in levels of participation and achievement in communities, especially of marginalized groups, inequality of women and young people with low skills. This will contribute to a wider choice and innovation in the learning process.
Policies should be adopted to recognize that lifelong contributions for contributing to inclusive growth are affected by unemployment, restructuring and career changes, and also make important contributions to social integration, active citizenship and personal development. Participation in learning is crucial because it has a positive effect on broader social benefits, such as a healthy lifestyle, reducing tensions in the community and an increased sense of well-being. Investment in lifelong learning infrastructure has the added benefit of driving sustainable growth.
The ministry’s Adult Education Directorate should work with government financial institutions that require more donors, and encourage them to allocate sufficient funds so that operations on programs can run smoothly and thereby increase the number of students. The government needs to allocate more funds for lifelong learning campaigns through advertising in the media in order to draw public attention to the brutal role of lifelong learning for individuals and national development. Lifelong learning funding agencies must provide funds directly to enterprises, other than materials, to provide care for individual needs and interests.
Finally, lifelong learning, including all types of training and retraining, has a vital role when it comes to employment and active citizenship. Strong working relationships between schools, universities, private and vocational education should be encouraged. This is of great importance so that more investment is required of people who have their education, employers and students themselves. Innovative mechanisms, when it comes to funding students, should be properly analyzed and evaluated.
