Namibians are urged to not look down on Cuban nationals and instead embrace them with respect and kindness.
This plea is particularly directed to the Namibian students pursuing studies in different fields at universities in Cuba.
Namibian leaders, led by Deputy Prime Minister John Mutorwa, engaged 13 of the 33 students in Cuba’s capital, Havana, recently.
Despite the 60-year economic blockade, Cuba’s education system and institutions of higher learning are internationally recognised for quality and high performance.
Consequently, the island nation continues to attract foreign scholars, predominantly in fields most central to socio-economic development, such as medicine and engineering.
Namibia, too, benefits from the number of bilateral agreements between the two countries.
This year alone, 33 post-graduate students have been enrolled at different universities across Cuba.
This goes against the initial goal of pursuing studies in various engineering disciplines.
The negative perceptions about Cuba’s socio-economic situation are some of the reasons used by the students to change their minds or abandon studies, prompting interventions from the government.
The conduct of students does have a bearing on the historical ties between Namibia and Cuba, which they have been encouraged to jealously protect.
About twenty Cuban experts in engineering are expected to travel to Namibia to mentor aspiring engineers and facilitate overall skills transfer.
The government wants locals to seize the opportunity for the country to use its own expertise in the future.
They are pursuing post-graduate studies in architecture, electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, and civil engineering under the tutelage of the Ministry of Works and Transport.