Curro Namibia to launch tertiary college 

Curro Namibia–the local unit of Johannesburg Stock Exchange-listed Curro Holdings Limited–is expanding its education offerings in the country by opening Roots College, a private tertiary institution, next month.

Roots College Managing Director Eddie Conradie said the college will operate from Windhoek Gymnasium Campus and is looking to take in 50 to 100 students for its first intake.

“The College will make use of the Windhoek Gymnasium Campus for the theory section and the college will then follow online tuition. Our practical section of the course will be offered at our experimental farm at the Roots farm in Stampriet,” he told The Brief.

Conradie said the College seeks to implement a phased approach to its course offerings. This year the focus will be on the Agricultural College, collaborating with the Peritum Agri Institute in South Africa to offer the NQF 4 certificate course in Plant and Animal Science while subsequent phases will introduce agricultural diploma courses (NQF 5&6) and expand to include IT, business management, accounting, hospitality studies, tourism as well as a potential Maritime College.

“All of these will be offered on certificate and diploma levels. All our courses include extra short courses for our students to gain the necessary entrepreneurial and business management skills,” said Conradie

In the meantime, construction of the Roots campus is set to commence at the end of 2024-2025 academic year with an initial capacity estimated to be 120 students per year, with the potential for expansion once the College is officially registered with the Namibia Qualifications Authority (NQA).

Conradie said the goal is to have the courses fully registered with NQA by June 2024.

He also said the College aims to tackle the skills deficit and unemployment challenges prevalent in Namibia through the provision of business skills, fundamental accounting knowledge, and marketing expertise.

Curro Namibia operates the Windhoek Gymnasium Private School. Curro Holdings Limited develops, acquires, and manages independent schools in South Africa, Namibia, and Botswana.