Africa-Press – Namibia. Records management is a vital aspect of organisational efficiency yet many challenges at regional level make it difficult to implement properly across institutions, especially in schools.
As records and archives management personnel in the ministry of education at the regional level, our mandate is to ensure that proper records management practices and protocols are followed across all institutions within the ministry.
This includes schools and administrative offices.
This work begins with inspections to determine the volume of records kept and how they are managed.
Based on these findings, we provide training to equip staff with the skills and knowledge needed to maintain proper practices.
Despite its importance, records management remains a mystery for some institutions, particularly at grassroots level.
For this reason, our training sessions serve two main purposes: to capacitate staff, and to raise awareness about the significance of proper records management.
PRESSURE POINTS
One of the major challenges at the school level is the unavailability of administrative officers.
Currently, a school’s eligibility for an administrative officer depends on pupil enrolment, meaning smaller schools often operate without one.
This policy places an undue burden on principals, who must handle all administrative duties themselves or delegate tasks to a teacher.
At the same time, principals are full-time educators expected to deliver the curriculum, attend meetings and manage school operations.
Expecting one person to handle all these responsibilities effectively is unrealistic.
Every school, regardless of size, should have an administrative officer dedicated to handling administrative work.
While limiting administrative officers may have been intended to reduce the wage bill, it ultimately undermines school administration.
Frequent staff movement within the ministry adds another layer of difficulty. Transfers, promotions, and reassignments are common, which makes refresher training almost impossible.
Often, sessions meant to refresh skills become full training courses because most participants are new.
In addition, trained staff are sometimes reluctant to share the skills and knowledge they have acquired, meaning the benefits of training are lost when staff change roles.
This creates a cycle where institutions constantly need to retrain personnel in basic records management practices.
SUPPORT SYSTEMS
Space and infrastructure constraints further hinder effective records management.
Many schools and offices have only a small storage room, often used for multiple purposes, including as offices, staff rooms, copy rooms and filing areas.
These multipurpose spaces are unsuitable for storing records securely, and staff members work under unconducive conditions.
At the regional level, we attempt to decongest these storage facilities, but even we face challenges because of the lack of proper records centres.
There is a clear need for dedicated regional records centres to safeguard records and improve overall administration.
Perhaps the most frustrating challenge is the outdated file plan.
The ministry of education’s file plan was last reviewed in 2018 and no longer fully reflects the current realities of schools and other institutions.
Many types of records are not properly accommodated, creating confusion during appraisal and disposal processes and causing frequent misunderstandings over reference numbers.
The file plan urgently needs review to ensure that records management practices are effective and relevant.
SERIOUSLY SPEAKING
While awareness and training have improved the understanding of records management, several challenges remain.
The absence of administrative officers, frequent staff movement, inadequate storage facilities, and an outdated file plan all undermine proper records management across schools and other ministry institutions.
Until these issues are addressed, records management will remain more of a slogan than a practical reality.
Addressing these challenges is essential for improving administration, protecting records, and supporting staff in delivering quality education and services.
Asser Nakale is an assistant archivist in the ministry of education, Oshikoto region. This article is written in his personal capacity. Facebook: Asser L N Nakase
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