Swapo member of parliament Willem Amutenya has urged education minister Sanet Steenkamp to review the National Youth Service’s (NYS) admission requirements, arguing that they unfairly exclude those the programme was created to assist. In a letter dated 29 July, Amutenya says the requirements for the 17th voluntary national service training programme appear inconsistent with the objectives of the National Youth Service Act. Amutenya says the academic threshold resembles university admission requirements rather than those of a programme intended to equip disadvantaged youth with life skills, vocational exposure and discipline. Amutenya calls on the ministry to engage the NYS board to broaden access for disadvantaged youth regardless of academic performance and extend the upper age limit to 35 years. He says the NYS should remain a platform for inclusion, nation-building and skills development that prioritises vulnerable young Namibians rather than those already positioned to access education and employment opportunities.