TUCSIN Milestones

The University Centre for Studies in Namibia (TUCSIN)

During the 1970’s Namibia (formerly South West Africa) was administered like a province of South Africa. A university in Namibia was a controversial subject. It took courage to provide a forum for Namibians and others to address such issues and demand access to higher academic education.

TUCSIN House & Early Activities

June 1978: Activities at TUCSIN House, first on a farm outside of Windhoek and then from in the centre of town, consisted of hosting educationists, visiting scientists and students. Members of the organization undertook field trips, assisted researchers and offered their skills in teaching special subjects. They also assisted with setting up new classrooms and renovating older buildings on the premises. Scholarships were secured, and funds were obtained to prepare students for university careers in the natural sciences. By the end of the millennium TUCSIN has been instrumental in having well over 600 Namibians qualified in fields critical to the development of the country.

2023

January: TUCSIN Windhoek High School, a STEM school, officially opened for Grade 8 and 9 learners.
June: TUCSIN celebrates its 45th anniversary.
July: TUCSIN Khomasdal and TUCSIN Main have merged as a response to the significantly low enrolment at the main centre and to reduce operational costs for the organisation.

2022

January: The Chief Bobo Livelihood Center (CBLC) was inaugurated at the TUCSIN Lodge in Tsumkwe. This inspiring project was initiated by Chief Bobo, head of the Traditional Authority, in a desire to empower the San community and allow them to increase their ability to live from their own income. The German Namibian NGO Ubuntu-Namibia de and the German BMZ funded the building and financially supported the first training. TUCSIN implemented the project and is running the CBLC.

April: Official closed down of TUCSIN Tsumkwe Lodge.
May: The Board of Trustees extended the contract of Mr. Cliff Olivier as Director, following the conclusion of his initial five-year contract.
June: Appointment of Ms Deidre Pienaar, TUCSIN Tsumkwe Projects Training Manager. She succeeded Ms Alexandra Parrs who worked for TUCSIN for 2 years.
July: TUCSIN Main Centre underwent a restructuring process that resulted in the retrenchment of nine employees.
December: Ms. Clemencia Samarope, a dedicated auxiliary employee of TUCSIN, and Ms. Evelyn Cadion, the Principal of TUCSIN North, are retiring.
December: Official close down of TUCSIN North Centre due to very low intake during the 2022 academic year.

2021

January: The TUCSIN Rundu Centre was closed down due to low enrollment of students in Rundu.
August: The TUCSIN TSUMKWE Lodge employees underwent restructuring and retrenchment due to a decline in tourism visits to the Lodge.
September: Chief Bobo Livelihood Centre (CBLC) was constructed. CBLC was funded by UBUNTU and BMZ.
Laptops sponsored by the American Cultural Centre were provided to TUCSIN and distributed across all three centres.
September: Board member and long-standing Mathematics teacher, Jacobus van Neel sadly passed away due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
December: Lena Guriras marks her 30th work anniversary with TUCSIN. December: Ms. Henriette Rispel, a novice English teacher, Head of Centre, and former Director, passed away unexpectedly.

2020

March: Due to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in Namibia, a governmental directive mandated the closure of all schools along with various other restrictions. Centres were all closed on 17th March 2020 and teachers commenced with online teaching, using platforms such as Zoom, Google Classroom and the Welwitschia online teaching platform that TUCSIN is affiliated with.
June: TUCSIN joined the Association of Principals of Private Schools and submitted a request to the Ministry of Education to allow private schools to commence face-to-face classes on 03rd June 2020. A COVID-19 Protocol accompanied the submission following the government Protocols for the Pandemic and with added measures to ensure adherence to social distancing and sanitation protocols.
June: TUCSIN welcomes, Dr Alexandra Parrs as TUCSIN Tsumkwe’s new Training Manager.

2019

February: The ongoing drought and Namibia´s economic decline as well as the re-structuring of the Namibia education system resulted in fewer participants for the TUCSIN courses.
15 June: TUCSIN 41^st anniversary and Dr Beatrice Sandelowsky’ s 80^th birthday celebrations together with TUCSIN staff, Alumni and TUCSIN associates.
July: TUCSIN Twapandula social club continued with their fundraising project by collecting clothes and food for the orphanages and old age homes.
19-23 August: TUCSIN Spring School
11^th of September 2019: One of our 2019 DAAD graduates, Dr Iyaloo Konstantinius, gave a talk to female TUCSIN students on Vaginal microbes and health.

2018

June 2018: TUCSIN celebrated its 40^th anniversary under the theme “Celebrating the Namibian Youth”, hosting various events from the 11-15^th June: a CAREER DAY, a CULTURAL AND SOCIAL AWARENESS DAY, a Day of TERTIARY INSTITUTIONS VISITS and a Day of ACADEMIC PRESENTATIONS.
11 June: THE ANNIVERSARY LAUNCH CEREMONY was appropriately highlighted by the key-note address of the Dr Obed Kandjoze, one of the former TUCSIN Complementary Course students (1986) and currently Minister of Economic Planning and Director General of the National Planning Commission. The first day was concluded with an AWARENESS RAISING MARCH by 400 TUCSIN students and staff to the Palm Tree Park in town, with banners calling attention to social ills such as domestic violence, gender-based violence, women and child abuse, human trafficking, corruption and unemployment. The students signed a petition to Parliament requesting special attention for these issues. The petition was received by the Deputy Speaker of the Namibian Parliament.
– Dr Wilfred April (UNAM) gave his presentation on learning from the Omagongo Festival on self-employment and entrepreneurship in Namibia.
– Werner Hangula (Graphic Artist) in collaboration with the Museums Association presented beautifully painted illustrations on Climate Change.
– Tsumkwe: Council of Elders Meeting – TUCSIN TSUMKWE LODGE. Chief Tsemkxao #Oma along with Mr. Bruce Parcher and Dr Beatrice Sandelowsky held a conference with the Council of Elders in celebration of TUCSIN’s 40^th anniversary.
– TUCSIN students started the TUCSIN Twapandula (“We are grateful”) Social Club. They collected clothes and food for orphanages and old age homes.
July-December: The German NGO `UBUNTU Namibia e.V.´, the German Ministry for Economic Cooperation (BMZ) and TUCSIN-Tsumkwe conducted a programme to improve the income situation for the San in the Nyae Nyae area around Tsumkwe by the development of tourism.
November: Professor Norbert Lammert (Director of the Norbert Lammert Foundation as well as Konrad Adenauer Foundation) visited TUCSIN Tsumkwe.
– Six employees of the TUCSIN Tsumkwe Lodge received their graduation certificate in various fields of hospitality training.
1 December: TUCSIN Strategic Planning Meeting and Annual General Meeting

2017

February: A total of 840 students registered at four TUCSIN centres; TUCSIN administered 51 scholarships for the DAAD.
June: Cliff Olivier assumed the position of Director of TUCSIN; Dr Wilfred Bezuidenhout became the new Chairperson of the Board of Trustees; Ms. Ndina Uushona took over from Ms. Val Dentlinger as Principal of the Khomasdal Centre.
– All centres celebrated the 39th anniversary of TUCSIN in June with talks & discussions.
July: Career Workshops were held at TUCSIN Rundu & Oshakati. These were facilitated by Welwitschia Nam-Career group.
July: TUCSIN was informed by the DAAD that new recruits for Inland Country Scholarships will not be administered by TUCSIN anymore. TUCSIN would, however, still administer the current scholarships until grantees complete their studies, which will be by the end of the 2019 academic year. The main reason for this change in cooperation is the fact that, in future, the DAAD scholarship programme will focus more on capacity building and the strengthening of teaching and research staff.
September: TUCSIN Tsumkwe substantially upgraded its infrastructure and the community support programme – the numbers of visitors increased as well.

2016

February: TUCSIN employs 46 full-time and 80 part-time staff working at five different locations in central and northern Namibia.
March: In cooperation with the Konrad Adenauer Foundation TUCSIN arranged a one-day-conference on “The Role of Education in providing opportunities for the Youth of Namibia”.
May: Mr. Bruce Parcher, the new Programme Manager of TUCSIN-Tsumkwe, presented a Strategic Plan for the TUCSIN Tsumkwe Lodge for Hospitality and Training.
June: Using TUCSIN’s 38^th anniversary in mid-June TUCSIN invited their Alumni in Swakopmund, Windhoek, TUCSIN-Rundu and TUCSIN North to show-case their professional achievements. Every centre reported on the wonderful contribution the Alumni made.
– Blended E-Learning Workshop: This workshop was facilitated by Christopher Olivier for the teachers in TUCSIN North and TUCSIN-Rundu.
July: Major building improvements commenced at the TUCSIN Tsumkwe Lodge.
– Welwitschia Namibia (in Partnership with TUCSIN) hosted career workshops for our students at the TUCSIN centres in Oshakati and RUNDU.
August: TUCSIN Khomasdal arranged a very successful Champagne Brunch to create awareness for breast cancer. The proceeds totalling N$13 700.00 was TUCSIN’s donation to the Cancer Association of Namibia. The annual Apple Cancer project at the City Campus also raised a substantial sum towards this worthy course.
October: TUCSIN in cooperation with the DAAD (German Exchange Service) processed 127 applications to award 36 scholarships for advanced studies in Namibia and South Africa for the 2017 academic year.
November: TUCSIN Tsumkwe published a short video on cultural activities on Youtube (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RxeHmeRJzuI).
– New co-operative ties between TUCSIN-Tsumkwe and the South African NGO Khwattu – San Community-based Tourism Training Programme were established (www.khwattu.org).

2015

February: TUCSIN established a database for qualified and experienced Grade 12 teachers at its Centres in Windhoek.
March: TUCSIN enrolled 1,049 students across four centres.
June / July: In cooperation with TUCSIN Welwitschia Education Initiative for Namibia (www.welwitschia.org) held their Application Training Seminars at four centres. In order to provide career guidance to TUCSIN students they made extensive use of the TUCSIN Career Focus Newsletters, prepared by Martina Williams.
August: The Heritage & Culture Seminar 2015 took place in Tsumkwe. Nine lecturers from the US, Germany, South Africa, Botswana, and Namibia, (including one from Tsumkwe, gave talks on the San and their culture.
October: Professor Dr Lammert, President of the German Parliament (Bundestag) visited TUCSIN to meet with beneficiaries of the Norbert-Lammert-Foundation.
December: Dr A. Wienecke resigned as director. TUCSIN was being managed for the time being by the TUCSIN Board.

2014

February: TUCSIN-Rehoboth had to be closed – hopefully temporarily.
– The enrolment for TUCSIN’s Upgrading/Complementary courses at the centres in Windhoek, Khomasdal, Oshakati and Rundu totalled 945 students.
24 June 2014: Launch of TUCSIN TSUMKWE. TUCSIN had bought the Tsumkwe Lodge and is intending to use it as a multi-purpose educational and development centre.

2013

January: TUCSIN welcomed Dr Andreas Wienecke, who took over from Dr Chris Sworn.
– Dr Chris Sworn agreed to join Dr Cornelia Limpricht as Honorary Trustee.
15 June 2013: TUCSIN’s 35^th anniversary was marked with another contribution towards the Seminar Series on “Heritage and Cultures in Modern Namibia” (Part IV). Presentations dealt with the issue of Mother Tongue: Key to the Treasures of Cultural Diversity; Windhoek-Mont Blanc Street.
November: Once again TUCSIN excelled with outstanding results, featuring amongst the “Top 20” nationwide secondary schools (ranked 17th).

2012

February 2012: Opening of TUCSIN Centre at Rehoboth
March: TUCSIN Trustee Cornelia Limpricht launched her new book, `Rehoboth, Namibia Past & Present´ at TUCSIN-Khomasdal, Rehoboth and Swakopmund.
– 30 March: TUCSIN´s AGM, Cliff Olivier, Senior Manager HRD at NamWater and TUCSIN Alumnus, succeeded Dr Ronnie Böck as Chairperson of the Board of Trustees.
July & September: `Heritage and Cultures in Modern Namibia´- Seminar Serie III at TUCSIN Khomasdal and TUCSIN-Centre Rundu on “Without culture, there is no education – Without education, there is no future”. Talks by: Megan Biesele, Andreas Haikera Mushongo, Melissa Heckler, Sabine Klocke-Daffa, Manja Stutzriemer, Michael Proepper, Wade Pendleton & Cornelia Limpricht.

2011

January: Dr Chis Sworn was assigned to TUCSIN through the VSO as new TUCSIN director.
March: NTA (Namibian Training Authority) Bridging Programme implemented by TUCSIN Oshakati for 180 students.
July: TUCSIN participated in the National Conference on Education.
July & mid-September: `Heritage and Cultures in Modern Namibia’ Seminar Series II.
August: Summer School at TUCSIN Khomasdal for 35 Grade 12 learners

2010

20 years of Independence of Namibia
June: Ms. Henriette Rispel resigned as Director. Ms. Rispel stayed on in a consultancy capacity and Ms. Ina Calitz was appointed Acting Director until the end of 2010.
August: Start of the `Heritage and Cultures in Modern Namibia´- Seminar Series I at TUCSIN in Windhoek
November: TUCSIN organised the conference `Dialogue on Education in Namibia´ attended by more than 70 experts from the Namibian education sector.

2009

January: At Rundu the TUT (Tutorial)-Course was launched.
– Yearly blood donations and participation in the cancer-apple-project in aid of the Cancer Association of Namibia took place as usual.
– In Windhoek, Mont Blanc Street, the Complementary Course included Higher Level for mathematics, physical science and biology for the first time.
November: The Alumni-Event again reflected TUCSIN’s positive input into the country’s development.

2008

June: TUCSIN turns 30 – Anniversary programme: TUCSIN Public Lectures in cooperation with Konrad-Adenauer-Foundation – 800 participants.
– Launch of TUCSIN-Festschrift `Heritage and Cultures in Modern Namibia´ by Dr C. Limpricht & Prof. M. Biesele
– Visit of Prof Dr Lammert, President of the German Parliament (Bundestag). He met with beneficiaries of the Norbert-Lammert-Foundation.
December: At the end of the year Dr Ronnie Böck took over from Dr Beatrice Sandelowsky as chairperson of the Board of Trustees.

2007

January: Enrolment at TUCSIN increased dramatically.

2006

TUCSIN Trustees approached President Pohamba about the future of TUCSIN.
The Municipality of Oshakati donated an erf to TUCSIN for further development.
TUCSIN staff members Martina Williams and Mitchell van Wyk attended an international educational conference including e-learning in Berlin, Germany.

2005

Dr B. Sandelowsky launches her book, “Archaeologically Yours”
Prof. Richard Lee of the University of Toronto presents “A Tale of Three Communities: Anthropological Insights into the African AIDS Crisis”
Think-Tank Event: TUCSIN and Millennium Development Goals.

2004

June: Publication of brochure “25 Years”
– TUCSIN Trustees review the Deed of Trust.
– TUCSIN Alumni event: Dr Joseph Diescho leads a series of public debates on the Status of Democracy in Namibia.

2003

June: TUCSIN celebrates 25th Anniversary
– TUCSIN Alumni Talk – bi-weekly Radio programme
– TUCSIN Orphans´ Project launched
– TUCSIN joins ICACT (International Campaign Against Child Abuse and Child Trafficking)

2002

March 2002 – March 2003: TUCSIN held a Public Relations Course designed for 12 San students from Botswana and Namibia in cooperation with WIMSA (Working Group for Indigenous Minorities in Southern Africa).

2001

Dr Sandelowsky retires and Ms. Henriette Rispel takes over as director of TUCSIN.

2000

January: TUCSIN NORTH is established.
– Full-time Complementary Course replaces the TEP.
June: TUCSIN Alumni Association (TAA) officially launched.

1998

February: Ministry of Defence requests design and facilitation of an upgrading course for students to attend Naval Academy in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
– TUCSIN Tutorial Course is offered at the Rössing Foundation Education Centre.

1996

May: Under the leadership of Dr B. Sandelowsky and supported by TUCSIN, Rehoboth Museum inaugurates new buildings and establishes its own Research Centre.

1995

February: Upgrading course for students assigned to TUCSIN to qualify students for admission into the newly established Faculty of Agriculture at University of Namibia (UNAM).

1994

February: Ministry of Fisheries requests the design and facilitation of an upgrading course for sea cadets for entry into the Marine School in Walvis Bay.

1993

Konrad Adenauer Stiftung terminates funding of Complementary Course.
TUCSIN administers reintegration of 350 previously exiled children from the German Democratic Republic.

1991

Additional premises in Windhoek acquired.

1990

Independence of Namibia on 21 March 1990; TUCSIN expects positive changes regarding the education system.

1989

TUCSIN Enrichment Programme (TEP) for High School Students in rural areas is inaugurated.

1987

DAAD (Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst) appoints TUCSIN as its representative in Namibia.

1986

“International Seminar on Appropriate Education in Namibia” is held by TUCSIN at the Rössing Foundation Education Centre.
Rehoboth Museum, a project supported by TUCSIN, opens; director: Dr B. Sandelowsky
Complementary Course students go on an educational tour to South African universities and technicons and the Grahamstown Festival.

1985

Konrad Adenauer Stiftung provides funds for 25 Complementary Course students, – until 1993.

1984

January: The Complementary Course is offered to the first 8 students.
March: Adam Small inaugurates the Rehoboth Library.

1983

Development Projects launched: Namibia Crafts & Wear in Windhoek and the Epukiro Farmers’ Cooperative

1982

Launch of Ju/wa Bushman Development Foundation (today Nyae Nyae Development Foundation of Namibia).
Educational Testing Services (ETS) New Jersey, appoint TUCSIN to administer internationally recognized tests for admission to University.

1981

Feasibility study for the Rehoboth Museum is drawn up by Dr B. Sandelowsky and Robert Camby.

1980

Feasibility study for the Rehoboth Library is drawn up by Dr B. Sandelowsky.
Research carried out by local TUCSIN members in the fields of rock art, archaeology, and a study of baboon behaviour took place in 1980/81.

1979

Utuseb and Naos schools established in rural areas.
Instrumental in planning the establishment of the Rössing Foundation Education Centre.

1978

Launch of TUCSIN by an association of members.
Offering 2 scholarships and student guidance