Commodification of higher education? : an analysis of Education and Training Sector Improvement Programme (ETSIP) phase 1 (2006 to 2011) document of Namibia's 2005 to 2020 education programme

Abstract

The conceptualization of education is an essential term which generally tends to be understood in different ways, this is especially in terms of how it is supposed to function in the society. For Namibia, the notion of education in Namibia is emphasised as an important sector to enable the country to achieve developmental goals. This is partly because of the education perspective(s) that has shaped how the concept of education is theoretically and practically understood from legislative framework to policy discourse.

Additionally, the Higher Education (HE) sector plays contributes immensely on the development that the country strives to achieve yet the sector has been faced with various problems, mainly relating to financing higher education and ensuring equal access to higher education institutions for all Namibians . As a result, the country has invested in different educational programmes and initiatives aimed at transforming the education system in the country especially through government policies such as the ETSIP document.

Using document analysis as a methodological strategy, this thesis investigates the different perspectives of education that avail in the ETSIP document in order to stress both explicit and implicit education perspectives in the Namibian education programme. First, I identified themes from the ETSIP document, particularly Phase 1 from the year’s 2006 to 2011 document of ETSIP. Then analysed the ETSIP document, for instance, on the basis of how the idea of the commodification of higher education as an emerging education perspective prevails in the Namibian education system. The results demonstrate the role of education in Namibia, especially in the planning and the anticipated development of the country.