| Polytechnic of Namibia | |
|---|---|
Logo of the Polytechnic of Namibia |
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| Motto in English | Technology and development |
| Established | 1994 |
| Rector | Tjama Tjivikua |
| Academic staff | ≥300[1] |
| Admin. staff | 670 (including faculty)[2] |
| Students | 11,500[3] |
| Location | Windhoek, Namibia |
| Colours | Yellow and Blue |
| Sports | Soccer, Rugby, Cricket, Basketball |
| Nickname | Poly |
| Website | http://www.polytechnic.edu.na/ |
The Polytechnic of Namibia, locally also known as Poly or Polytechnic, is an institute of tertiary education in Windhoek, Namibia. It has been established by Act 33 / 1994 of the Namibian Parliament.
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The Polytechnic emerged from the Academy for Tertiary Education, founded in 1980, which was the first institution of higher education in Namibia. Act 9/1985 of the South African administration defined three sections for this academy, a university part, the College of Out-of-School Training (COST) for vocational training programs, and the Technikon Namibia for technical programs related to science and technology.[4]
When in 1992 the University of Namibia (UNAM) was founded, the Academy lost its university section. The remaining sections, COST and Technikon, were merged to form the Polytechnic of Namibia per Act of Parliament in 1994.[4]
The Polytechnic consists of two campuses and a number of scattered former residential buildings all located in the Windhoek West suburb close to the city centre. The main campus consists of the structures originally erected for the Academy for Tertiary Education.[4] At its center is the Elisabeth house, Windhoek's former obstetric hospital designed by Wilhelm Sander in 1907. Elisabeth house is a national monument since 1986 and houses the Senate chambers and the office of the Rector.[5]
The Engineering campus is adjacent to the main campus; construction of this area started in 1995.[2] Originally intended to house only the School of Engineering, this campus has gradually grown and accommodates the library, all auditoria, and many of the other faculty venues.
As a classic polytechnic the institution offers both higher-level vocational training and academic degrees in technical subjects and the applied sciences. In many cases these programs can be combined such that the academic degree can be attempted after a more basic vocational training was successfully passed.[6]
The Polytechnic of Namibia comprises six academic schools and offers undergraduate as well as postgraduate degrees in the areas of business and management, engineering, information technology, journalism, hospitality, natural resource management, and medicine. As of 2010[update] there are 86 undergraduate and 19 postgraduate degrees offered at the institution.[4]
The Polytechnic of Namibia has been in constant competition with Namibia's only state-owned university, the University of Namibia (UNAM).[7] University rankings consistently list both institutions among Africa's Top-50, usually with UNAM a few places ahead of Polytechnic.[8] However, on the Webometrics 2011[update] list, the Polytechnic of Namibia occupies rank 30 in Africa (2,866 globally), and the University rank 54 (4,507).[9][10]
On the local level, judging service and contributions to the Namibian economy, Polytechnic of Namibia usually tops all other educational institutions.[11][12] In 2010 the argument about who delivers the best tertiary education in Namibia entered a new stage when a local study found the Polytechnic again to be far ahead in terms of services delivery. This study has subsequently been rejected by the Students’ Representative Council of UNAM[13] but endorsed by Polytechnic management staff.[12]
The Polytechnic of Namibia has for a number of years attempted to change its name and its mandate to that of a "Namibia's University of Science and Technology" (NUST). The institution went as far as adopting this name on its web site and in most of its official communication.[7] This, however, was against the law that established the institution. In August 2010 the motion was stopped by cabinet, stating upcoming overall changes to the Namibian education sector as the reason to decline the name change.[14]