When Namibia’s Minister of Education, Innovation, Youth, Sport, Arts & Culture, the Honourable Sanet Steenkamp, walks across the stage at Rhodes University’s Spring Graduation today, 10 October 2025, to receive her PhD, she will embody the enduring success of a partnership that has transformed education in Namibia for more than two decades.
The partnership between Rhodes University and Namibia, established in 1999, was designed to strengthen Namibia’s education system by providing high-quality postgraduate opportunities for teachers, educational leaders, and officials. Steenkamp was part of the very first cohort, commencing her Masters in 2000 when she was a senior school counsellor in the Oshana Region of Namibia.
In 2015, she was appointed Executive Director in Namibia’s Ministry of Education, Arts & Culture, and earlier this year, she assumed the role of Minister of Education, Innovation, Youth, Sport, Arts & Culture.
During her tenure as Executive Director, Steenkamp began her PhD journey, focusing on Expanding the Leadership of Learning Support Teachers in Resource Schools: A Formative Intervention Study in Namibia. The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and her demanding role in leading the education sector through crisis made progress difficult at times, but she persevered. She describes her PhD journey in three words – turbulence, transformation, and triumph.
“I can’t think of a better person to be in charge of Education for a country than someone who is willing to dedicate so much time learning and researching how best to serve the sector,” says Professor Eureta Rosenberg, Dean of Education at Rhodes University.
Steenkamp’s research, which she says “connected the Namibian Ministry and education sector more than ever before,” strengthened her capacity as both an Executive Director and, now, as a Minister. “Sustainable change happens when we honour the agency of every teacher and every learner,” she reflects – a principle that continues to guide her leadership philosophy.
The Rhodes University–Namibia partnership continues to produce leaders who shape the country’s education system. This year’s graduates include Steenkamp and fellow PhD recipients Rauha Tufilonghenda Mika and Victoria Nepembe, alongside Masters graduates Absalom Ndamutala Kambindji, Petrina Kamene Mafuro, and Katrina Shivute Ngenosheko.
The renewed Memorandum of Agreement (2025–2030) between Rhodes University and Namibia’s Ministry of Education, Innovation, Youth, Sport, Arts & Culture will ensure this impactful collaboration continues – expanding opportunities for postgraduate study and professional development for educators and policymakers alike.
The long-standing partnership is more than an academic programme; it is a bridge between two nations committed to excellence in education. For Steenkamp, it has been a journey from turbulence to triumph – and a testament to the transformative power of learning, leadership, and international collaboration.